Police arrest second suspect in murder of Catholic priest
Investigators at the scene where the body of a Catholic priest, Fr Michael Maingi Kyengo, was found buried in a shallow grave. The priest from Machakos had been missing for seven days. PHOTO | GEORGE MUNENE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- A knife suspected to have been used to slit the throat of Fr Michael Maingi Kyengo, 43, was found in a toilet.
- The priest disappeared from Thatha Parish in Machakos on October 8, only to be found dead under mysterious circumstances.
- According to the police, Fr Kyengo was last seen in Kaewa while driving his vehicle but he never returned to the parish.
Detectives from the Special Crimes Prevention Unit have arrested a second suspect in the murder of a Catholic priest whose body was recovered from a shallow grave in Embu on Wednesday.
The officers flushed out the suspect from his hideout in Gategi village in Embu County and took him way for questioning.
EVIDENCE
A knife suspected to have been used to slit the throat of Fr Michael Maingi Kyengo, 43, was found in a toilet where it had been allegedly dumped by the suspect to cover up evidence.
Blood stained clothes belonging to the suspect were also found in his house. They were taken to government chemist in Nairobi for analysis.
Embu County police commander Daniel Rukanga confirmed the arrest Friday.
He however declined to divulge more information saying the matter was being handled by detectives from Machakos.
The suspect, Mr Solomon Mutava, is being detained for questioning. Police say Mr Mutava was seen in video footage captured by cameras on the Nairobi Mombasa highway driving the priest’s car.
Head of Special Crimes Prevention Unit Pius Gitari said detectives are still following crucial leads on the whereabouts of the other missing suspects.
MOTIVE OF MURDER
The priest disappeared from Thatha Parish in Machakos on October 8, only to be found dead under mysterious circumstances.
According to the police, Fr Kyengo was last seen in Kaewa while driving his vehicle but he never returned to the parish.
Police were Wednesday in the process of exhuming the body for post-mortem examination.
The motive of the murder is yet to be established.
Additional reporting by Vincent Achuka
