• Nyabonyi's son had worked as a farmhand for the parents of the deceased
• Local police chief says the arrest of additional suspects was a breakthrough
Image: /THE STAR
Police officers in Kenyenya, Kisii, have arrested two more suspects in connection with the rape and gruesome murder of two sisters in Omobondo on Wednesday.
Siphia Nyabonyi and her daughter-in-law were seized from their house on Thursday evening and taken to a police cell as investigations intensified.
Nyabonyi's 16-year-old son had worked as a farmhand for Martson Kirochi and Gladys Kirochi — the parents of the deceased, who were aged four and six.
The son and his three cousins had been arrested. The cousins are David Omwenga, 30, Timothy Mainga, 27, and Gilbert Nyabuto, 20.
The suspects will be arraigned and charged with murder. County police commander Martin Kibet said they will pursue the case to the conclusive end. Nothing will be left to chance, he said.
“We are exploring all possible leads to ensure every culprit linked to this incident is brought to book,” Kibet said, adding that one of the suspects is an ex-convict.
Sh23,000 was recovered from the suspects. The cash is believed to have been stolen from the house in which the girls, Diana and Stephanie, were murdered. Police officers also recovered new clothes belonging to the boy. They suspect he bought them using part of the money stolen from the Kirochis' house.
Martson teaches at Riomondo Primary School. He, alongside his wife, was away when the murderers pounced on the girls.
Kibet said the arrest of additional suspects will enable them to gather more evidence. He described it as a breakthrough.
"It is definitely a step forward. The option remains open. There may be more accomplices in this," he said.
When Martson returned home, he found the gate locked from the inside. He had to scale the fence to get in.
"He called out for his two children who were left behind but none responded,” a police report said.
According to the report, Martson then went round the house and found the rear kitchen door open. He found the four-year-old girl, a nursery school pupil at the Kenyenya Primary school, lying on her back with a bra tied around her neck.
He then found the other daughter, a Standard 1 pupil at Kenyenya Primary School, lying dead "near a covered sock pit on her back with a strap of a cloth tied around her neck," the report added.
On visiting the crime scene, the police found the body of Kerubo with her underwear half removed, an indication she might have raped and later strangled to death.
(Edited by F'Orieny)