The sister of a 23-year-old Nairobi woman has broken her silence after detectives named the deceased’s former boyfriend as a suspect in her alleged murder, a case that has left the Highrise area of Kibera in shock and mourning.
Latifah Akumu was reported missing by her family, who shared her photos widely on social media in a desperate attempt to find her.
Leads gathered through those online appeals eventually guided investigators to the Nithi River, where her body was subsequently recovered.
Latifa goes missing after burying mum
Her disappearance came just three weeks after the family had buried their mother, compounding the grief in ways few families could imagine
Even before Latifah’s body was retrieved, her ex-boyfriend, identified only as Dan by the family, had already been taken into custody at the Highrise Police Station.
The arrest followed a startling disclosure from Dan’s domestic worker, who told the family that the house she went to clean had been left in a deeply suspicious condition.
Domestic worker records official statement
The family marched to the police station the previous Thursday to follow up on a missing person report they had already filed.
The domestic worker recorded an official statement, formally triggering the investigation. Dan was then summoned to record his own statement, and when he arrived accompanied by two friends, officers detained him on the spot.
Emily opens up about sister’s relationship with ex
Detectives subsequently escorted Dan back to his Highrise residence, which they believe to be the site where Latifah was allegedly killed before her body was allegedly transported and dumped in the river.
The layers of ash found outside the home when reporters visited told their own grim story of what investigators reportedly found inside.
Emily Adhiambo, Latifah’s sister, said that the relationship between the two had long been marked by tension, frequent arguments and recurring physical altercations. She described Dan’s behaviour in stark terms.
Emily describes his late sister’s ex-boyfriend
“Obsessive. He’s creepy. He’s obsessive,” Emily said, adding that he would monitor who was coming and going from their home.
Emily also revealed that before the domestic worker came forward, Dan had continued visiting the family and even appeared to assist in the search for Latifah, behaviour she now views as deeply troubling.
Latifah sadly joins a growing number of Kenyan women who have lost their lives at the hands of men they once trusted.
