Three family members who were murdered in Eastleigh were slain by people known to them, police have said.
A suspect and survivor of the murders told detectives the killers demanded ransom but became brutal when they realised the victims had identified them.
The three victims were a woman, her daughter and niece.
“The murders are linked to ransom. The killers were holding the women while demanding a ransom but in the process the women identified one or two of the suspects which angered them.
“They were heard saying the women will inform police on who they are and they will be in danger and a decision was made to kill them and dispose their bodies,” said an officer aware of the probe.
They had demanded Sh1 million for the release of each of the women.
On October 21, Dahabo Daud Said, 38, Amina Abdirashid Dahir, 22, and Nusayba Abdi Mohammed,13, went missing before their bodies were discovered on October 22, 2024 at around 6am in different locations.
The bodies bore stab wounds.
Nusayba and Amina's bodies were found at Bahati in Makadara and 6th Avenue Parklands respectively while Dahabo's body was found in Khyumbi, Machakos county with her hands chopped off.
On October 23, two human hands were recovered in South C along Five- Star Road.
Postmortem on the bodies of the women indicated that Dahabo had her neck severed, hands chopped off and was tortured.
Chief government pathologist Johansen Oduor said Amina Abdirashid Dahir died from stabbing.
“The stab wound went to the heart. We believe she died out of stabbing,” Oduor said.
He added that Nusayba died from smothering and there were indications of rape on her.
“We have taken samples from all the victims for analysis,” Oduor added.
The exercise was done at the City Mortuary on Friday ahead of planned burial at Langata Cemetery on Saturday.
Police said they are holding a suspect in connection with the murders.
The suspect was arrested as he tried to escape.
He is believed to have been the one who took another ransom of Sh1 million from a woman who survived the murder.
Police are interrogating the woman who claims she was abducted and detained with the three slain women.
The team handling the case said they had interrogated the woman who alleged she was abducted by killers of the three slain women.
She alleges that she was held in the same room where they were locked up for hours.
She told police she heard the killers argue that the slain women had identified them, which was dangerous and would expose them.
It was then that a decision was made to kill them.
The abductors, according to the survivor, demanded a ransom to release them and her family managed to raise Sh1 million, which was deposited into an Ethiopian bank account.
Her statement is one of the critical leads being investigated in connection to the mysterious killings.
Detectives have recovered a motor vehicle believed to have been used in the abduction in Nairobi.
A driver abandoned the salon car near Wakulima market in Kamukunji, Nairobi.
He has been traced to Ijara at the Kenya-Somalia border.
Police said the salon car was recovered at Wakulima market in Kamukunji, Nairobi.
Investigators also analysed the victims' mobile phones, revealing that on the night of the abduction, the phones were traced within Eastleigh for some time , then moved to General Waruinge, Hombe Road and one phone was switched off near Pangani.
It is suspected that after the three were killed, the suspect(s) dumped their bodies in different locations.
Nusayba Abdi's body was left in Bahati, while Amina Abdirashid's body was dumped in Parklands.
After leaving Parklands, the suspect(s) reportedly picked up another woman along City Road before heading to South C, where they dumped the severed hands of Dahabo.
The suspect then proceeded to Kyumbi, Machakos county, where the body of Dahabo was abandoned.
Police are analysing CCTV footage and payment details from a petrol station where the suspect fuelled the vehicle during the trip.
A section of traders in Eastleigh on Thursday protested over the murders of the Somali women, closing their shops as a sign of mourning and demanding justice for the victims.
They were addressed by among others, Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and Kamkunji MP, Yusuf Hassan.
On Thursday, detectives revisited two crime scenes — Parklands and Kyumbi in Machakos county — to reconstruct the events leading to the murders.