DCI unmasks main suspect behind Rita Waeni gruesome murder

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has released CCTV pictures of the main suspect behind the gruesome murder of 20-year-old university student Rita Waeni.

Waeni was found dead on January 14 in a short-term rental apartment in Nairobi’s Roysambu area. Her body was dismembered and its head was missing. It was later found at a dam in Kiambu County on January 21.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the DCI said it has conducted elaborate forensic analyses and that the murder probe is at its advanced stages.

“Elaborate forensic analyses have so far been done by the investigating team, capturing the deceased's last moments and linking probable suspects to her murder. Further, detailed statements by persons of interest have been recorded and more data sourced from digital platforms to ensure that all leads to Rita's killer(s) are utilized,” the investigative agency said.

Detectives appealed for information about the whereabouts of the prime suspect in the murder, a man only captured by CCTV cameras walking Waeni to her scene of death.

“The Homicide Directorate calls upon anyone who can identify the man whose images (though blurry) appear on this post, to come forward and share information that may assist in his arrest,” DCI said.

The agency says it has established that the unidentified man first initiated communication with the late Waeni on October 2, 2023, through an Instagram account under the name Carlton Maina.

DCI says the account name was later changed several times and finally pulled down immediately after the student’s murder.

Detectives believe the suspect visited several hotels in Nairobi West in October 2023 and the Roysambu short-term rental apartment along TRM Drive on November 7 and Nov 11, 2023.

“He is also believed to have a criminal mind evidenced by his way of evading CCTV cameras. He is fluent in Swahili and English and has knowledge of Nairobi and its environs,” read the statement.

Waeni was buried in a private ceremony on February 5.

The court had allowed police to detain William Ovie Opia and Johnbull Asbour, who had been in police custody since January 22, but directed that they appear before investigators once a week as the probe continues.