Suspects say they left NLC staffer lying at scene where body was found

News

 

Two suspects arrested over the murder of National Land Commission staffer Jennifer Wambua claim they met and left her at the scene where her body was found. 

Wambua was a deputy director of communication at the commission.

The suspects were arrested on Thursday evening.

They have told police that they met her lying at the scene on March 12 and held a brief chat and were soon joined by a third man who they told police they can identify.

According to the suspects, they left Wambua and the third man at between 4-5pm.

They told the police the NLC staffer looked depressed and sad. She asked them for water and the third man walked to a nearby shopping centre and brought the water.

The suspects told police they left Wambua and the third man talking.

“They claim they were on their own business there when they met the woman lying there and talked briefly. They said she seemed disturbed and depressed. They claim they were joined by a man they know from the area and is the one who brought her water that we suspect was spiked,” said a detective aware of the probe.

The police on Friday produced the two in court and asked for 14 days to hold the suspects who were arrested in Ngong on Thursday.

The detectives said the two had been linked to the murder plot of Wambua.

The suspects appeared before a Kiambu court, which ordered they be detained at Muthaiga police station until April 23 when they appear there again for further directions.

The team believes the man who bought the water sexually assaulted Wambua before killing her.

The hunt for the suspect is ongoing.

A section of staff at NLC were Wednesday grilled for hours as part of the probe into the murder of Wambua.

Police believe she was depressed out of work or domestic related issues.

Wambua went missing on March 12, 2021 but her body was found dumped in Ngong Forest the following day. Police say they are investigating a murder incident over her death.

An autopsy showed she was strangled by bare hands.

Police handling the case said their probe is focused at NLC and involves imprests that the deceased had taken and was probably stressing her.

Detectives said they had discovered Wambua had received an imprest exceeding Sh6 million and had been cited by an auditor report. She then agreed to have the money recovered from her salary.

Days before she was killed about Sh2.7 million that was sent to the account of the journalist.

The money was sent from NLC account to Wambua’s to pay suppliers of various goods and services for the launch of a strategic plan for the commission that was commissioned on March 5 at a Nairobi Hotel.

Detectives handling the case say out of the money sent to Wambua, Sh2 million was withdrawn two days before she went missing.

However, the suppliers have told the police they have not been paid their money as agreed.

The officers are also focusing on the 58 calls that were made to her mobile phone days and hours before her death.

Her husband Joseph Komu was also talked to by police for two days as the probe goes on. He told police his wife had become prayerful and would go away for up three days for prayers.

He added she seemed disturbed days before her death.

She was supposed to be on a five-day leave from March 8 but showed up in office on March 12, the day she went missing.

Wambua left all her belongings including her handbag and mobile phone in their car and walked away leaving no trace of her next destination.

On the day she went missing, she was dropped at work at about 7 am and walked to her office with her bag and lunch box in hand.

She later walked out of the office almost an hour later and went to where their family car had been parked, opened the boot and placed the personal belongings there including her mobile phone before walking away to unknown place.

It was until the following day that her body was found in a thicket in Ngong area.

Jennifer was also a witness in a corruption case where Lugari MP Ayub Savula and 19 others have been charged with Sh122 million fraud at the Government Advertising Agency. There is no link so far between her death and the case.   BY DAILY NATION  

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *