Key suspect linked to murder of four men disappears

Nakuru GK Prison, from where Charles Njuguna Chege, a suspect in the murder of four men, disappeared. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Mystery still surrounds the disappearance from the Nakuru GK Prison of a prime suspect in the murder of three brothers.

The suspect disappeared from custody days before he was to appear in court for the hearing of the murder case.

On Wednesday, James Sawe, the officer in charge of the prison, said security officers had intensified their hunt for the suspect.

BIZARRE

“We are trying to trace his whereabouts. He is accused of demanding ransom from the family, before the bizarre incident took place,” said Mr Sawe.

He did not divulge any more details about the puzzling disappearance.

The suspect was discovered to be missing on Monday when he failed to appear in court for the hearing of the case.

Prison officers could not account for his whereabouts.

It was the second time Charles Njuguna Chege, who is linked to the murder of the siblings and their friend, failed to show up in court.

MAXIMUM SECURITY

The brothers - Paul Mutunga, 32, Paul Mwai, 24 and Daniel Ikenya, 31 - and their friend went missing on January 18 before they were found dead.

The court directed the officer in charge to appear in court on August 1 to explain the mystery.

It is not clear how Mr Chege managed to escape as suspects are highly guarded inside and outside the facility. 

The accused had earlier been denied bond by the court before he was remanded at the maximum security prison.

Mr Chege was arrested after demanding ransom from the family of the victims.

STRANGE NUMBER

Manasseh Ndirangu Gachagua, the father of the slain siblings, earlier told the court that the family received messages “from a strange number” after the disappearance of the three demanding a Sh500,000 ransom.

The family could not raise the amount and later discovered the badly mutilated bodies of the four men in Kamae Forest in Kiambu County.

Two of the brothers were matatu operators while the third and their friend were casual labourers.