Residents of Maili Tatu in Igembe Central woke up to a shocking incident on Monday morning after a naked body of a 10-year old schoolgirl who went missing Sunday was found in a riverbed.
Justah, a fourth grade pupil at Mwerongai Primary School appeared to have been defiled and strangled before being dumped in the riverbed near Maili Tatu market.
According to witnesses, the deceased was bleeding from her private parts and was half-naked, her hands tied from behind and her mouth covered using a shirt.
Speaking at the scene, Justah’s mother, Fridah Gacheri, narrated that she had sent her daughter to a nearby shop to buy sugar on Sunday afternoon, never to return home.
“We have been searching in the neighborhood all night. We thought she had probably sneaked to one of the relatives’ homes.” she says.
“We were however shocked this morning to receive heartbreaking news that the body had been found.” she adds.
Gacheri says they had all along kept hope alive that their daughter would return home, and thought that she had probably lost the money and was afraid of coming back home.
“Our hope was shattered early this morning. A neighbor told us that the body of a young girl had been spotted and it fitted her description. She was wearing her school pullover, white blouse and white shoes,” she recounted amid tears.
The girl’s grandfather Joel Mucheke said the family was pained by the incident and called for investigations to arrest her killers.
Residents called on the police to enhance security in the area due to increased cases of insecurity occasioned by an increase in the number of bars and idle men around the area.
The body was moved to the Nyambene sub-county hospital mortuary.
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