Detectives in Meru County have arrested a prime suspect in connection with the murder of 65-year-old Evelyne Mukiri Mbaabu, who was fatally attacked at her home in Kithoka, Imenti East Sub-county, on August 7, 2026.
According to the DCI, the elderly woman was preparing supper with her 13-year-old grandson when an unknown man entered the compound and proceeded to the kitchen, where he asked for drinking water.
Moments later, the boy heard his grandmother scream for help.
He rushed to the kitchen and found her lying in a pool of blood, before the assailant turned on him and struck him on the hand with a panga before fleeing.
Evelyne was rushed to Grace Park Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
Following weeks of forensic analysis and intelligence-led investigations by detectives from the CCIO’s Office and DCI Imenti North, the prime suspect, Solomon Kathurima Kairemia, was traced and arrested on September 21, 2026.
Kairemia had abandoned his house and was reportedly spending nights hiding in nearby thickets, just metres from his residence.
Detectives recovered a blood-stained panga believed to have been used in the fatal attack. The weapon was secured as an exhibit for further forensic examination.
A police identification parade was subsequently conducted, during which Kairemia was positively identified as the man behind the fatal attack.
The suspect was presented before the Meru Law Courts, where investigators obtained a 14-day custodial order to allow them to complete the ongoing investigations.
