Detectives in Meru County have arrested a prime suspect in connection with the murder of 65-year-old Evelyne Mukiri Mbaabu, who was fatally attacked at her home in Kithoka, Imenti East Sub-county, on August 7, 2026.
Mbaabu was preparing supper with her 13-year-old grandson when an unknown man entered their compound and headed to the kitchen, where he asked for drinking water.
Moments later, the boy heard his grandmother screaming for help. He rushed to the kitchen and found her lying in a pool of blood.
The attacker then turned on the boy, striking him on the hand with a panga before fleeing the scene.
Mbaabu was rushed to Grace Park Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
Weeks of forensic analysis and intelligence-led investigations by detectives from the County Criminal Investigations Office and DCI Imenti North led to the arrest of Solomon Kathurima Kairemia on September 21.
Detectives said Kairemia had abandoned his house and was spending nights hiding in nearby thickets, just metres from his residence.
During his arrest, detectives recovered a blood-stained panga believed to have been used in the attack. The weapon was secured as an exhibit for further forensic examination.
A police identification parade was later conducted, with detectives saying Kairemia was positively identified as the suspect in the fatal attack.
Kairemia was subsequently presented before the Meru Law Courts, where investigators obtained a 14-day custodial order to allow them to complete their investigations.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations expressed condolences to Mbaabu's family and said detectives would continue pursuing leads to establish the motive and circumstances surrounding her murder.
