Two murder suspects in the killing of a 26-year-old woman, Jane Achieng Omullo, in February this year in Likoni, Mombasa County, are to undergo mental health evaluation after allegedly committing murder, contrary to Section 203 of the Penal Code.
McDonald Ochieng Owino alias Don and Alice Ochieng Achieng, who are suspected to have committed the crime with others still at large, were today arraigned at the Mombasa High Court. Two suspects in the gruesome murder of Mombasa fishmonger Jane Achieng Omullo are set to undergo mental assessment before taking plea, as cult and witchcraft links emerge.
The two, together with others who are being hunted by detectives, are suspected of having committed the act between the 7th and 8th of February.
“This court is hereby informed by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) that Don and Alice have been charged with murder contrary to Section 203 as read with Section 204 of the Penal Code, Cap 63, Laws of Kenya,” the charge sheet stated.
The two are expected to undergo a mental assessment before they take the plea, even as the police have been granted a miscellaneous application.
The matter will be heard on the 17th of next month.
In the chilling murder, the dismembered body of Jane, who was a fishmonger, was discovered on February 8th in a sack dumped outside a rental house in the Approved area of Timbwani, Likoni.
The body was missing both legs, palms, and the head. The head was later found in Kwale County. The motive behind the gruesome act by the two suspects, among others, remains unclear.
Before being found dead, the fishmonger is reported to have spoken with her mother and revealed that she wanted to say something to her.
Two days later, she went missing, and her family launched a search.
Her body, which had been preserved at the Mombasa County Referral Hospital morgue for almost two months, was later transported to Rachuonyo, Homa Bay County, where she was buried according to Luo traditions.
Her grieving mother, Ann Achieng’, said the family had no choice but to proceed with the burial, as the wait for justice had been long and painful, compounded by an escalating hospital bill.
She said they had hoped to recover all her remains, but with no progress and mounting expenses, they had to make a difficult decision.
“We decided to bury her like this because the hospital bill keeps increasing, and I have been in Mombasa for too long, following up on my daughter’s case,” she said.
The charging of the two comes as a sign of hope for the family, as they had previously expressed disappointment over what they termed a slow and inconclusive investigation by the authorities.
The two appeared before Lady Justice Wendy Kagendo Micheni of the Mombasa High Court.
Police are also tailing a witch doctor from Kwale who is believed to have been sent some pictures when the 26-year-old woman was killed.
A high-profile detective privy to ongoing investigations revealed that the matter is cult-related, since some body parts were missing.
“We have crucial information from the forensic bureau, and we are following the leads to arrest the witch doctor,” she said.