Nakuru minor arrested over defilement, murder of grade six pupil

Mercy Wanjiku Mureithi who was found defiled and murdered in a maize plantation in Lare, Njoro on May 19, 2026. 

Police in Nakuru have arrested a 16-year-old suspect linked to the alleged defilement and murder of Grade Six pupil Mercy Nyambura in Lare village, Njoro Sub-County.

Njoro Sub-County Police Commander Stanley Koech said the suspect had fled the area after allegedly committing the offence and had already been identified by residents as a person of interest.

“After getting a tip on who the suspect could be, our investigative team immediately began a manhunt for him. He escaped from his parents’ home within the village,” said Koech.

Police tracked down the suspect on Thursday morning at his aunt’s home in neighbouring Mau Narok Ward.

In a shocking twist, investigators revealed that the suspect is also a minor. According to police, he claimed he was possessed by spirits at the time of the attack.

“We are making a miscellaneous application today to hold him for some days as we conclude our investigations. He claimed that some spirit led him to attack the girl,” Koech added.

Nyambura was reported missing on Monday evening after she failed to return home from school.

Area Chief Kiaraho Mwangi said the family initially hoped the girl had spent the night at a friend’s home and visited Sinendet Primary School the following morning.

“When it emerged she wasn’t there, we mobilised the community to conduct a search for her. The residents stumbled on her bag dumped in a thicket next to a maize plantation,” said Chief Mwangi.

A few metres into the plantation, residents discovered the girl’s lifeless body in what authorities described as a violent scene showing signs of struggle.

“She had been stabbed in one of her eyes. She had been hit with a blunt object on the head and also strangled. She appeared to have been defiled but that will be confirmed by a medical officer,” Mwangi said.

Residents blamed insecurity in the area on overgrown bushes along the road leading to the crime scene, saying the neglected route had become a danger to school-going children.

“The bushes have overgrown, reducing the road to a footpath. With this incident, nobody is safe. It is our prayer that the county government acts sooner than later,” said area elder Bernard Kamau.

Community elders also raised concern over the resurgence of illicit liquor dens, warning that substance abuse among youth was worsening insecurity in the area.

“We need a renewed crackdown on these dens. Our youth are getting wasted at a very tender age,” Kamau added.