Nairobi, Kenya | By Michael Wandati | The family of the 20-year-old student, Rita Waeni Muendo, whose dismembered body was discovered at an Airbnb residence in Nairobi’s Roysambu area on Sunday has shared new details surrounding her gruesome murder.
According to Rita Waeni Muendo’s family, she left her aunt’s residence in Syokimau to meet with a friend. At approximately 5 am on Sunday, her father received a message, delivered from her phone number, demanding a ransom of Ksh 500,000 within 24 hours for the release of the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) student.
“With this message, the family reported the matter to the police and DCI, and investigations began,” reads a statement from the family seen by the Kampala Dispatch.
The family mentioned that two additional messages were sent, continuing to demand the ransom. “Unfortunately, the family did not get further details about the ransom or an opportunity to explore this route. Additionally, some demands were made when she had already been murdered,” the family said.
The body parts of the student, who was due to join her fourth year of university, were discovered inside a trash bag in the apartment by the caretaker on Sunday. However, her head was missing.
“We believe she was lured by her killer, who also tried to extort money from her family, even after killing her,” the family added.
They described Rita Waeni Muendo as “an intelligent, smart girl beyond her age at the very start of her youth,” known for her kindness, laughter, and “ability to light up any room she entered.”
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Detectives are still searching for Ms. Muendo’s head and her personal belongings, including her clothes and mobile phone.
On Tuesday, police arrested a male foreign national at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on suspicion of being involved in the murder. The suspect, traveling with a Mozambican passport, was intercepted before boarding a plane after reportedly raising suspicion. He was interrogated at the airport before being transferred to the Kasarani Police Station pending identification.
However, police are yet to establish whether the man in police custody is the suspect captured on CCTV picking the keys to the rental apartment where the girl’s body parts were found dumped.
