Seven university students were arrested and produced in court over the weekend following the death of a fellow student at an apartment in the Ngara area of Nairobi.
A Chief Magistrate’s Court at Milimani granted the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) seven days to hold the students, who are all being investigated over the death of 23-year-old university student Lorna Kathambi Karani.
The deceased reportedly fell from the 12th floor of an apartment in Ngara and died. The circumstances surrounding her fall are under investigation, police said.
Chief Magistrate Dolphina Alego issued the order after the DCI, through Corporal Johnes Nyangige, filed a miscellaneous application seeking more time to complete investigations into what authorities are treating as a suspected death under inquiry.
According to Nyangige, the deceased had been socialising with a group of university students on the night of November 23 in a room on the 12th floor of the building.
A security guard at the premises reported that the group had previously been warned twice for making noise, including shouting, singing, and playing a guitar.
At around 4:10 a.m., four members of the group briefly left the building and later returned. Moments later, the guard heard a loud noise and found Lorna’s body on the ground floor with visible injuries.
The matter was reported to Parklands Police Station, and officers from both the station and the DCI visited the scene.
Police said the seven students were among the individuals last seen with the deceased and are considered persons of interest.
A search has led to the recovery of items believed to belong to the deceased, including clothing, a pair of shoes, her mobile phone, and her national identity card.
Nyangige told the court he requires more time to record statements from witnesses and the students’ colleagues, conduct forensic analysis on their mobile phones, and retrieve CCTV footage from Harmony Plaza.
He also said additional time was needed to allow the deceased’s family, who were traveling from Meru, to identify the body for a post-mortem.
The DCI argued that releasing the students could jeopardize the investigation, stating that they have no fixed place of residence and could flee.
“The respondents, having been arrested, are aware that there is an active case under investigation against them, and if released on cash bail or bond, they may interfere with investigations or abscond,” read court documents.
The students were reportedly socialsing at a colleague’s apartment when the incident occurred.
Friends and family members attended Milimani Court as the students were arraigned on Monday.
