Suspect who escaped from police custody rearrested

A rape suspect who escaped from police custody in Nairobi has been rearrested.

Dennis Wanjala was being held at the Parklands Police Station for the rape of a Spanish journalist in Kileleshwa.

He was arrested three months after the crime and remanded at the station.

Police documents say on November 6, last year, the journalist had hired Wanjala, a boda boda rider, to take her home.

The journalist later claimed that Wanjala raped her along the way and stole Sh16,000 from her.

He then changed his phone number and employer. For more than 127 days, Wanjala eluded police until the night of March 12 when he was arrested by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

Nairobi Region Police Commander Philip Ndolo said yesterday the suspect was arrested in Kawangware where he was hiding after he escaped from custody last week.

Squeezed himself

Investigations show that Wanjala squeezed himself out of the cells through a hole and then jumped 10 feet from the roof of the station to freedom.

The suspect is believed to have taken advantage of the heavy rains.

The Spanish woman had hailed a boda boda through Bolt Kenya Ltd to take her to Kileleshwa from her residence in Parklands.

The victim told police that she also lost her mobile phone during the incident.

She was later rushed to Aga Khan Hospital, where she was treated and discharged.

The matter was later reported to the police and investigations launched.