Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza’s son and brother, alongside three other individuals, have been arrested in connection with the murder of Daniel Muthiani, a prominent Meru blogger known as Sniper.
The Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has filed an an application in court to detain an additional five suspects, including Kenneth Mutua, Fredrick Muriuki, Frankline Kimathi, Timothy Kinoti, and Murangiri Kenneth, for 21 days at Muthaiga Police Station.
This move is aimed at providing the DCI sufficient time to complete their investigations into the murder.
The arrests took place on January 4 in Meru County, with the investigation officials placing the suspects in various police stations in Kiambu and Nairobi County.
The DCI, in their application filed at the Kiambu Magistrate Court, contends that the time since the respondents’ arrest has not been adequate for the investigations.
Hence, they seek a 21-day detention to facilitate the conclusion of the investigations while the respondents are in police custody.
According to the DCI’s application, the five suspects allegedly lured the Meru blogger through a phone call, claiming that Governor Mwangaza, whom he had been politically criticizing, wished to meet him for a truce.
The blogger traveled from his home in Igembe South to Meru town for the supposed meeting and subsequently went missing, prompting his family to raise an alarm.
Daniel Muthiani was reported missing on December 2, 2023, and his lifeless body was discovered dumped in Mutonga River in Tharaka Nithi County on December 16, 2023.
A postmortem examination conducted by government pathologist Johansen Oduor revealed that he died from strangulation, with marks on his neck, fractured ribs, and head injuries suggesting a violent struggle. The signs indicated a distressing lack of oxygen.
The main suspect in the murder case, Vincent Kirimi alias Supuu, has been a focus of the investigation. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has requested a 21-day custody for Supuu. Notably, the Inspector General of Police has been given seven days to forward the murder inquiry file.
Supuu was re-arrested after a Meru-based court quashed the DCI’s application for custodial orders on suspicion of abduction. The court granted bail to the suspect, setting the next mention for January 5, 2024. The DPP has directed the withdrawal of a previous application filed at Maua Law Courts (Miscellaneous Application E166 of 2023).
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has formed a team of senior prosecutors to guide the investigations, ensuring that the perpetrators are held accountable regardless of their societal status.
The ODPP, led by Renson Ingonga, may delve into other offenses alongside the murder investigation. The Inspector General of the National Police Service has been instructed to forward the resultant Murder Inquiry File to the ODPP within seven days.
Upon receiving the file, the DPP pledges to review the facts and evidence in accordance with the Constitution of Kenya and relevant laws, issuing appropriate directions for further legal proceedings.
