Police arrest suspect in murder of Murang’a prison warder

Peterson Njiru when he appeared at the Murang'a Law Courts on May 16, 2019 over the murder of Pauline Wangari Ngoi, a prison warder. He will be held for 14 days as police complete investigations. PHOTO | NDUNG'U GACHANE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • On Wednesday morning, Ms Ngoi’s body was found inside her house in Kiharu estate.
  • A man with a tattoo on his neck was reportedly captured on CCTV footage entering her house.

Police have arrested a man in connection to the murder of a prison warder, Pauline Wangari Ngoi, in Murang’a.

Peterson Njiru was arrested on Wednesday evening and arraigned on Thursday morning.

But he did not take plea as detectives successfully requested the court to allowed them to hold him for 14 days as they complete investigations.

Murang’a DCIO Abdullah Ali, who is the investigating officer in the case, made the application to hold the suspect at the Murang’a Police Station before Resident Magistrate Sheila Nyaga.

The detective told the court that Mr Njiru was a boyfriend to the warden and that they need to interrogate him to establish whether he has any knowledge of the murder.

“The suspect is a person of interest, having been a boyfriend of Pauline Wangari, and he will assist us to unravel the mystery of the death of the deceased,” Mr Ali told the court.

The court allowed the police to detain Njiru for two weeks and fixed the mention date on May 30.

PSYCHIATRIC TEST

“Police have been granted 14 days to complete investigations and during the period they should take the suspect for psychiatric examination to determine if he is fit to stand trial before presenting him to court on May 30,” said the magistrate.

Murang’a County Police Commander Josphat Kinyua said the detectives are pursuing other suspects.

“We are still pursuing more suspects after reviewing the CCTV footages obtained from the rental house where the deceased lived and we will stop at nothing to ensure that the culprit is brought to book,” the police boss said.

On Wednesday morning, Ms Ngoi’s body was found inside her house in Kiharu estate, Murang’a County. It had multiple stab wounds.

A roll of bhang was also placed between her lips, with a kitchen knife in her right hand.

A man with a tattoo on his neck was reportedly captured on CCTV footage entering her house at 9pm on Monday and leaving on Tuesday at 3am.

The footage further shows the man leaving the house while carrying a TV set, a large bag, and a mobile phone.