This archive report was first published on 30 June 2020.
A 27-year-old man, Jassan Kariuki Theuri, has been detained in connection with a series of murders in Laikipia and Nyandarua counties.
On June 28, 2020, Theuri was arrested in Nyakariang'a, Ol Joro Orok Constituency in Nyandarua after a botched robbery with violence and an attempted murder.
Investigating Officer Peter Mukangai told Chief Magistrate Charles Obulutsa that the suspect had dug a tunnel to access a room where a woman and her children were sleeping.
The police are investigating a series of such incidents which have happened in Nyandarua West from December 2018 to date.
They intend to press more charges against the suspect, including murder and robbery with violence, and believe that there are other suspects whom Mr Theuri had been working with and who are still at large.
On June 29, 2020, the magistrate allowed the application by the officer, saying that investigations on the case are serious in terms of the offences and police require ample time to consolidate their case.
The suspect will be detained at the Ol Joro Orok Police Station until July 13, 2020, when the case will be mentioned.
At his home in Nyakariang'a in Nyandarua, villagers described the suspect as a known criminal who had managed to silence residents by instilling fear.
Ol Joro Orok Sub-County Police Commander Wanyama Nyongesa said detectives are analysing data from the six mobile phones recovered from the suspect's house to establish if he operated alone or had accomplices.
