Girl, 14, murdered and body dumped inside culvert in Kisumu

A Form 1 student was on Tuesday found murdered and her body dumped inside a culvert in Kisumu.

The body of the 14-year-old student at Dago Kokore Secondary School was discovered at about 8 am near Kiboswa along the Kisumu-Kakamega road.

County police commander Benson Maweu said it was discovered by a boda boda rider who stopped after a puncture and saw the body. He raised alarm.

Maweu said they suspect the victim was kidnapped, raped before being murdered. Her face was covered with cloth.

He said blood was oozing from the girl's mouth and nose. The body had bruises, indicating she might have been strangled.

“We suspect the girl was killed somewhere else and her body dumped at the scene of the crime,” Maweu said.

He said investigators had already been dispatched to probe the murder. The body was taken to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital Mortuary awaiting postmortem.

On Tuesday, residents on Nyahera were shell-shocked after learning of the girl's murder.

Her mother, Evelyne Akelo, said the girl had gone to fetch water from a nearby borehole on Monday when she disappeared.

“At around 3.30 pm, I sent her to go and fetch water. She did two trips and on the third one, she took longer than usual. I thought she had gone to her brother’s house where she normally plays with some girls,” Akelo said.

After more time passed without the girl returning, Akelo sent for her daughter but realised she was not at her brother’s place. She, however, did not panic because she thought the girl would be at her grandmother’s house.

"I even closed the door at night without locking the shutters to allow her in when she came back," She said.

But the daughter never returned. Akelo was still unable to come to terms with the realisation that her daughter had been raped and killed.

Haki Africa programme associate Mathias Shipeta visited the scene alongside Transform Empowerment for Action Initiative officers. The activists condemned the killing.

“This is a barbaric act that should not be taken lightly. From the look of things, the girl might have been raped by more than two people who she knew,” Shipeta said.

Shipeta said the injuries on the body suggested that the attackers wanted to kill the girl. He called on police to conduct a thorough investigation to bring the culprits to book.

“Human life must be guarded at all costs. Nobody has the right to take another person’s life,” Shipeta said.

Kisumu West MP Olago Aluoch condemned the killing and appealed to police to increase their patrols. He asked residents to be vigilant and give police information that might lead to the arrest of suspects.

“We want to see those responsible for such savage face the full force of the law,” Olago said.

 edited by peter obuya

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