A court in Kisii on Tuesday detained four suspects over the killing of four elderly women in Marani , Kitutu Chache North subcounty, on witchcraft claims.
The suspects -Amos Nyakundi, Chrispine Ogeto, Peter Angwenyi and Ronald Onyonka – were taken into custody on Tuesday afternoon as police stepped up the hunt for other suspects.
Resident magistrate Paul Mutai said the 10-day detention would allow detectives to tie up loose ends in their investigations ahead of the full trial.
The suspects will return to court on October 29 for the mention of their case.
While giving the ruling, Mutai rejected pleas by the suspects’ lawyer Shaffin Kaba to release the four on bond citing the gravity of the case.
The suspects will be detained at Rioma police station.
The suspects will undergo a mental assessment as doctors conduct an autopsy on the bodies.
Earlier, the prosecution team led by Simon Muriuki had requested the court to allow police to hold the suspects for 14 days pending investigations into the case.
The four are accused of killing the four elderly women in Kegonyi on Sunday following the Saturday night abduction of a student by unknown people.
Defence lawyer Kaba had said his clients did not pose a flight risk to warrant 14 days in detention.
