- The three women are said to have come to the station and declared they wanted to offer food to Karaya.
- After a thorough search, police detected one Itel mobile phone hidden in fresh brown bread.
Image: THE STAR
Three women were arrested after they tried to sneak a mobile phone to a suspect in custody at the Sagana police cells, Kirinyaga County.
Police said the three had concealed the mobile phone in a loaf of bread which they had brought to John Muriithi Karaya alias ‘California’ who is charged with the offence of murder.
Karaya is the owner of a bar where at least 20 people died last month after consuming poisonous alcohol in Kirinyaga.
The incident happened on Wednesday evening, police said.
The three women are said to have come to the station and declared they wanted to offer food to Karaya.
After a thorough search, police detected one Itel mobile phone hidden in fresh brown bread.
The suspects were arrested for the offense of preparation to commit a felony.
It is not clear what the motive of the incident was.
Police usually inspect food brought for suspects in custody as a safety measure.
A court allowed police to detain Karaya for 20 days.
Karaya was on February 7 arrested and produced at the Baricho Law Courts where the prosecution successfully made a miscellaneous application to detain him at Kiamaciri police station in connection with the deaths of at least 20 people.
The victims died on February 6, after consuming alcohol suspected to have expired.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua attended the mass burial of the victims in the area.
The residents stormed the bar destroying property before setting it ablaze.
During the raid, crates of beer, tables and other property were destroyed, police and witnesses said.
It emerged the killer brew had been confiscated and detained at a local police station before it was stolen by police and sold to the dealer.
Four police officers have since been arrested and produced in court over the incident.
The incident prompted changes in security operations in the area.
It also sparked an operation targeting alcoholic joints, which has seen most of them closed. There is now a major campaign in the area against the consumption of alcohol.