Five months have passed since the brutal murder of Rita Waeni, a 20-year-old student at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), the main suspect remains at large, leaving the family with countless unanswered questions.
Waeni’s lifeless body was discovered in Roysambu, with her body dismembered and her head missing. Later, her head was found at a dam in Kiambu County on January 21.
Renowned crimes and investigative journalist, Franklin Wallah, shed light on the frustrations faced by Waeni’s family in a detailed feature titled ‘Crimes Untold’.
The family expressed their disappointment at the lack of updates from the detectives assigned to the case, especially after the release of two Nigerian suspects in February.
According to Waeni’s mother, her daughter had mentioned a person named C.M. whom she planned to meet.
“I knew the person and he was C.M. (name withheld) but the platform or the conversation they were doing I didn’t know at the time,” she stated.
“We talked and she told me that she was meeting with her friend who was leaving the country and they were to have an early dinner and after that, we never talked again,” she noted.
However, she was unaware of the context or platform of their communication.
In her last conversation with her aunt, Waeni revealed her intention to meet this individual for dinner at a mall along Thika Road.
The aunt recalled leaving Waeni at home around 3:30 p.m. Shortly after, she received a text from Waeni stating her plan to meet the man. Concerned, the aunt immediately contacted Waeni’s mother.
“I left her in the house at 3:30 pm. That’s when she sent her a text saying that she was going to meet the man. I called her mother,” the aunt remarked.
Waeni’s mother explained that her daughter felt an urgent need to meet the suspect, as he claimed to be leaving the country the following day.
Despite attempts to postpone the meeting, Waeni ultimately agreed to proceed with it. Security camera footage captured Waeni and the suspect walking towards a rented apartment for the night.
On that fateful night, Waeni recorded a video in the apartment’s living room, showing drinks and music. However, the suspect’s face was not visible in the footage.
In April, the DCI revealed that they had traced the Instagram account that had been in communication with Waeni.
The account was registered under the name Carlton Maina.
However, the DCI stated that the account name was changed multiple times and was eventually taken down immediately after the student’s murder.
The DCI made an appeal to the Inspector General and the President for swift action in resolving this case.
