How university student met her death

By Cyrus Ombati Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere on Wednesday gave details of what is believed to be Mercy Chepkosgei Keino’s movements on the day she met her death as University of Nairobi students went on the rampage last evening.
The police boss gave a chronology of events that led to the student’s death, saying Ms Keino was called by her cousin, Scolastica Namwai Kamemba, at about 6.30pm on June 17 to invite her to a party in Westlands.
The two met in Hurlingham area at about 7pm and took a matatu to the city centre then to Westlands.
At Westlands, Keino and Namwai met a woman identified as Jacky, the friend who had invited Namwai to the party. They met at a petrol station.
Iteere said at the station, Jacky was in the company of two men who were unknown to both Namwai and Keino.
Took names"One of the men took the names of the ladies for reasons that the names would be required for entry to the venue of the party," Iteere said.
A few minutes later, Namwai, Jacky Keino and one of the men took a taxi to the venue at Wasini Luxury Homes, about two kilometres away along Waiyaki Way. The man who had taken the names joined them later.
Wasini Luxury Homes, an upmarket apartment, is said to be co-owned by two prominent city lawyers who bought it from a bank in an auction.
On entering the venue of the party, they found one other woman already seated. According to Iteere, the group was served with drinks, which included wines, juices and soda accompanied by snacks.
The two men left shortly and returned with five other ladies and more men. Juja MP William Kabogo later joined the group with a man only identified as Joram.
"A lot of wine and hot drinks were served. The deceased took a lot of wine together with whisky, making her shout at everybody, break some glasses and picture frames," said Iteere.
He added that Keino was taken out of the venue twice for rowdiness. Sometimes past midnight, she decided to leave the venue and an attempt by Namwai to restrain her was fruitless as she disappeared towards Waiyaki Way, leaving her bag behind.
Iteere said at about 2.30am, a dark Mercedes Benz car was spotted dropping a passenger on the spot where the deceased’s body was found. The car has been retained by police for further forensic analysis although the owner has denied claims that he dropped a body.
Third witness The woman who claims to have seen the incident has recorded a statement. He added a third witness has emerged and stated he was driving towards Uthiru to drop a friend and on the opposite side of the road he spotted a woman frantically waving down cars.
"On coming back driving towards town, he saw a body lying on the road almost at the same spot where the woman was waving," said Iteere.
A postmortem report confirmed the nature of injuries on the body to have been severe, with a smashed head, multiple fractures on the arms and legs and bruising on other parts of her body.
Iteere, however, questioned the nature of the meeting Keino attended. "What kind of business were they engaged in given that the majority of those present were aged between 20 and 25?" he posed.
Meanwhile, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Keriako Tobiko has directed police to carry out fresh investigations into the death.
Tobiko and Iteere met on Wednesday in the DPP’s office where it is understood they compared notes on the proceedings of the investigations.
"The investigations team has been boosted by the coming on board of two senior prosecutors appointed by the DPP to give technical and legal advice," said Iteere.
The investigations team is expected to revisit the apartment. They also want to establish if there is any element of criminal negligence on the part of witnesses, guards and the managers of the apartment.
Of the 21 people who were present, police have questioned 12 including Juja MP William Kabogo.
Iteere said for now, all of them are being treated as suspects. Among those yet to record statement is the man who hosted the party, who Iteere identified only as a Mr Shah.