• Seven teenagers suspected of kidnapping and killing a nine-year-old boy in Kakamega have been remanded for 14 days pending completion of investigations.
• Police were led to the location where the body of the boy had been interred in a nearby thicket by one of the suspects.
Seven teenagers suspected of kidnapping and killing a nine-year-old boy in Kakamega have been remanded for 14 days pending completion of investigations.
The suspects, all aged between 16 and 19, appeared before Kakamega resident magistrate Noelyne Akee on Monday. They did not take a plea. The magistrate directed that the case be mentioned on June 26.
Detective Peter Maritim asked the court to allow police to hold the suspects, saying investigations were incomplete
Maritim said a postmortem was yet to be done and that respondents were yet to undergo psychiatric tests to determine if they were fit to plead to murder charges.
“We require sufficient time, at least 14 days to enable us to carry out further investigations, including the postmortem, psychiatric examination of the suspects and a DNA sampling among other things,” Maritim said.
Six of the suspects agreed that further investigations be carried out. The other objected to his detention, saying he was picked from his place of work and knew nothing about the kidnap and murder of Ishamel Shukuri.
The magistrate granted the DCI prayers and allowed further investigations. She directed that psychiatric tests and DNA sampling be done.
“Considering the magnitude of the offence, I hereby grant more time to conclude investigations,” Akee said.
The suspects were arrested on Saturday and Sunday following the kidnap and murder of Shukuri.
The boy was abducted on Friday when he left their house to attend a Madrasa at a mosque in Kakamega town.
The suspect called Shukuri's mother, demanding Sh50,000 ransom to release the boy. The mother reported to police about the kidnap and the ransom demands.
The officers gave her the money but laid a trap. One of the suspects turned up to collect the ransom. He picked up the cash and dashed away, with police in hot pursuit.
He was eventually arrested after a chase. On Sunday, the suspect opened up and led police to where his accomplices were.
Police are also looking for another suspect said to have received the boy after he was kidnapped. The abductors handed him over to a man in a black car. Detectives are still pursuing the man and the vehicle.
Shukuri's body was found on Sunday near a river in Shitungu village where it had been buried.
"It is still not clear whether this was an ordinary crime or it was related to cultic activities," Kakamega county police commander Wilkister Vera said on Sunday.
Vera appealed to the public to be vigilant and watch over their children. She said the boy's body had been cut with a sharp object on the neck. The body was taken to Kakamega County Referral Hospital Mortuary.
Edited by peter Obuya