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Three arrested after phone data links them to Maai Mahiu taxi driver death
A portrait of Samwel Mwangi, the taxi driver who was found murdered in Machakos County and his car stolen.
What you need to know:
- The pathologist noted that Mwangi was hit on his head with a blunt object three times; his hands also had injuries.
- His body was transferred from Machakos on Monday to Eldama Ravine for preservation, and the burial will be conducted on Wednesday.
Three people have been arrested in connection with the murder of the Maimahiu taxi driver, whose body was discovered in a thicket in Machakos County on May 5, a day after going missing.
The body of Samwel Njoroge Mwangi, 37, was discovered in a thicket in Kalama Sub County in Machakos County by residents who called the police.
According to Naivasha Subcounty Criminal Investigation Officer, Isaac Kiama, the three, whose identities are yet to be revealed, were arrested within Maai Mahiu town on Monday by detectives.
Mr Kiama said that the three were arrested after phone data linked them to a conversation thread with the taxi driver before his phone was switched off.
The investigating officer said that the suspects will be arraigned at the Naivasha Law court under miscellaneous application as detectives seek more time to conclude their investigation.
“We would like to detain the suspects for 14 more days for interrogation. Samwel’s vehicle has not yet been recovered, but we are looking for it,” said Mr Kiama in a phone interview.
Mwangi went missing on May 4, after receiving a phone call from a client late on the same day, requesting his service to help ferry a patient to the hospital.
A week later, they were informed that his body had been discovered in a thicket and that it had been moved to the mortuary, and that they should go identify it.
The body had been registered as unidentified as it did not have any identification documents, but later it was identified through fingerprints.
The family travelled to Machakos on May 13 to identify the body.
Mwangi’s postmortem was conducted on Tuesday last week, which revealed that he died of a severe head injury.
The pathologist noted that Mwangi was hit on his head with a blunt object three times; his hands also had injuries.
His body was transferred from Machakos on Monday to Eldama Ravine for preservation, and the burial will be conducted on Wednesday.