Suspect arrested after body of missing woman found dumped in River Nithi

On Thursday, the suspect arrested by Lang’ata detectives led investigators to the very room where Latifa allegedly spent her final moments.

Four days after reports emerged of the disappearance of Latifa Akumu Orimba from Highrise Estate in Nairobi, her body was discovered in River Nithi, Tharaka-Nithi County.

On Thursday, the suspect arrested by Lang’ata detectives led investigators to the very room where Latifa allegedly spent her final moments.

One suspect is still on the run as a post-mortem report confirms that Latifa was brutally beaten to death, suffering fractures to her skull.

At Latifa’s family home, her father and siblings are still grappling with the pain of losing their loved one following the devastating news of her death in Tharaka Nithi County.

“Mwenye alimtupa, alimtupa usiku around 3 or 4, alafu akapatikana asubuhi," Emmy Adhiambo, Latifa’s sister, said.

“Niliota akiniambia, ‘Baba, nimeuawa na nimetupwa kwa maji.’ Hata DCI wakiniambia wameenda kumtafuta Meru, niliwaambia, ‘My daughter hayuko safe. Msichana wangu amekufa,’ " Latifa’s father, John Orimba Owuor, added.

According to the post-mortem findings, Latifa died after sustaining severe injuries, with investigators now piecing together the brutal circumstances surrounding her final moments.

“The first injury that she incurred, I think it caused her to fall down and never defended herself. That is from an expert, not myself," Lang’ata DCIO Damary Ombima noted.

The suspect then led detectives to his residence in Highrise, where they inspected the room Latifa had allegedly occupied.

The house painted a disturbing picture. The sitting room, bedroom and even the kitchen were in complete disarray, with items scattered across the rooms, raising further questions about what had transpired inside the house.

In another disturbing twist, it is alleged that just a day after Latifa disappeared, the suspect called in a housekeeper to clean the house. But what the housekeeper encountered was far from ordinary.

Latifa’s body was later discovered stuffed inside plastic carrier bags and dumped along the banks of River Nithi. Meanwhile, a second suspect is still being sought by detectives.

As detectives wrapped up their investigations inside the house, an angry crowd had already gathered outside, waiting to confront the suspect.

Tensions soared as the crowd appeared ready to take matters into their own hands. But the suspect had a narrow escape, as detectives quickly bundled him away from the scene before the situation could escalate.