Family's agony as Latifa Akumu's body found miles away, boyfriend arrested

Latifa Akumu Orimba who was found dead in Tharaka Nithi after being reported missing in Nairobi. [Courtesy]

The family of a 23-year-old woman is in shock and hurting. The body of Latifa Akumu was found on Wednesday floating on River Nithi, Tharaka-Nithi County, miles away from her Nairobi residence.

And now, the fingers are pointing at her boyfriend, who is said to have been the last person to be with her.

A postmortem established that Akumu, who had been missing since around October 26, died due to severe injuries on her body, suffered multiple injuries including skull injuries in what was linked to brutal attack.

"The first injury that she incurred, we suspect, caused her to fall down, and she never defended herself,” said Damary Ombima, head of investigations in Lang’ata.

On Thursday, the suspect led investigators to his house, where it is believed the deceased was murdered, to reconstruct what may have happened and Akumu’s last moments.

The man lives in Highrise Estate, Nairobi, a few metres from where Akumu lived with her sister Emmy Adhiambo.

Claims emerged that a day after Akumu was reported missing, the suspect had called someone to clean the house that was found disorganized with all kinds of items strewn in the sitting room and kitchen.

Adhiambo told The Standard that Akumu had gone to visit the boyfriend. But when days passed, the man denied seeing Akumu, saying they were no longer dating.

“I called the boyfriend several times but he denied and at one point he invited me to his house to confirm and even said they were no longer dating,” Adhiambo claimed

“On the day I visited his house, it looked unusual, without a carpet and disorganised; some cushions were missing on the sofa, his bed did not have bed sheets and the carpet was not there.  He said that he had called someone to come and clean the house."

Adhiambo claims that when the DCI visited the house, one detail caught her eye–a hair bead that dropped and rolled under the bed. "I noticed a bead that was similar to ones that were on my sister's hair. I got curious," said Adhiambo.

When the body was found, it had been stashed in three sacks, popularly known as 'Nigerian bags', and a rock had stopped it from being swept further away.

Following the discovery, Akumu’s boyfriend and another suspect were arrested as investigations continue to establish her last moments.

In Nairobi, close friends and relatives had been looking for Akumu until October 30, when they reported a missing person at Lang’ata Police Station

“It has been the norm for her not to return home, but this time round her mobile phone was switched off, which made us suspect that something was unusual,” said Adhiambo.

Akumu's father, John Orimba Owuor, spoke of the pain of seeing his daughter's body.  “It pains me to see my daughter was killed in such a manner; her body had stab wounds around the neck, and it appears that she was struggling. She was stashed in three Nigerian bags,” he said.

“From what we are gathering, she was killed, and her body was ferried all the way to Meru. That shows that kind of cruelty cannot be done by one person; someone must have assisted the suspect.”