The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has been allowed to detain former Gatanga CCM Secondary School Deputy Principal Elizabeth Wairimu Gatimu for seven days.
Wairimu was arrested in connection with the murder of student Ebbie Noelle Samuels in 2019.
Kiambu Deputy registrar Sylvia Motari also ordered the suspect to undergo a mental assessment. Wairimu will be presented before a high court judge to take her plea.
The suspect’s arraignment signalled hope that Ebbie’s family could get justice after four years.
Detectives accused the suspect of assaulting the late Ebbie, who would be starting tertiary education in 2023 for having a hairstyle that contravened the school rules.
Investigations revealed that Ebbie, who was just a month into her new school, was assaulted during evening preps some minutes before 9:00 p.m.
Visibly wounded and in pain, the late retired to her bed immediately after but did not wake up the next day.
According to detectives, the school administration tried to intimidate witnesses and the officers were forced to wait until the school closed for the March holidays in order to interview her schoolmates.
In April 2022, Kenyans from various walks of life walked to former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Harambee House office demanding swift action from the authorities.