Man who killed, buried friend in shallow pit latrine arrested

A man suspected of killing and burying his friend in a shallow pit latrine has been arrested.

Daniel Otieno is suspected to have killed his friend Laurence Okoth, 27 three weeks ago within his homestead in Nyamaraga village in Suna West-sub-County in Migori County.

According to police the 32-year-old suspect committed the crime and planted a banana at the scene of the crime amid efforts to conceal evidence.

The sub-county police commander Elizabeth Wakuloba Otieno said the suspect and his wife were the last people to interact with the deceased at their home.

Police say preliminary investigations indicated that the suspect asked his wife to spend the night at a separate house with their children as his friend and he slept in the main house.

“When the wife woke up the following morning, she noticed that her friend’s husband was not there,” Ms Walukoba said.

The police boss said the suspect (Otieno) had confined his wife in the house and kept monitoring her every move.

“His wife ran away on Friday night when her husband went fishing as she feared for her life, and later on, reported the matter to the area chief,” the officer said.

The police said relatives of the deceased who had been searching for their kin since then stormed the suspect’s compound and exhumed the body.

“Otieno was then caught by neighbours before he could flee and was handed to the police. His two houses were set on fire by the irate mob on Sunday,” said Wakuloba.

The suspect will be charged in court after investigations are completed.