A Kibera magistrate’s court has allowed detectives 14 more days to continue detaining five Nigerian nationals suspected of killing a middle-aged businessman.
The five; Ibrahim Adegbiyega Ojora, Taheed Anu Bankale, Onoshagware Daniel Oghenewede, Badmas Rilman Olankewaji and Ibrahim Bankole Imole are held over the death of Charles Otieno.
Otieno is said to have been pushed from the seventh floor of a building in which the five accused persons were staying.
Their detention followed a miscellaneous application filed in court by police constable Luke Ndirangu from the office of the Directorate criminal investigations.
Ndirangu initially wanted the court to grant him 21 days but he was granted 14 more days to complete the investigations.
“I am currently investigating a case of murder contrary to section 203 as read with section 204 of the penal code which occurred at Corner Heights apartment and reported vide OB number 22/29/1/2024 where the deceased Charles Otieno was allegedly pushed from the seventh floor to the ground where he succumbed,” he told a Kibera magistrate.
He told the court that the respondents stayed in the same apartment and they had known the deceased for a long time.
“The respondent had known the deceased for a long time whereby the deceased has been picking carpet from the respondent’s house to go and wash. The deceased went to the house on January 26 and took the carpet which he went and washed. He then dropped back the carpet on January 29 at the same house. The caretaker reported that the deceased dropped from the seventh floor and died on the spot the same day,” he told the court.
Ndirangu told the court that the officers rushed to the scene where they found the deceased on the ground lifeless.
They moved his body to the Coptic Morgue where the Postmortem is yet to be conducted.
“We want more days for us to complete our investigations. We also want to take the respondents to Mathare Hospital for mental assessment, record statements from various witnesses and perform a postmortem,” he told the court.
The respondent however through their advocate Eric Anyega told the court 21 days were too many for their detention.
Anyega told the court that no logistic challenges were available for the detectives to do their investigations since their purported crime was done in Nairobi.
He urged the court to detain his client for fewer days arguing that they were ready to help in the probe and were innocent in the said murder case.
“The investigation officer is duty bound to ensure swift investigations to help the suspect get swift justice. We are aware that there are no logistic challenges since the offence was committed in Nairobi and thus the investigators will have no logistic problems,” he told the court.