Police have arrested a trolley pusher, Nick Macharia, for the r3pe and m8rder of a 7-year-old girl, Tamara Blessing, in Nyeri town, Kenya.
The suspect is accused of luring the girl to his rented house in the Kiawara slums, where he reportedly defiled and k!lled her.
He buried the body beneath his bed and then went to ask the girl’s mother about her whereabouts.
The deceased went missing around 6pm on Saturday, while playing at the market where her mother, Susan Wanjiru, and grandmother, Jane Kabura, work as traders.
Her disappearance sparked a frantic four-day search, with family members and residents, including the suspect, combing the area in vain.
The breakthrough came on Sunday, when CCTV footage from a shop near the market revealed Tamara’s last moments.
The footage showed her walking alongside the suspect known locally as “Macha.”
Upon interrogation, the suspect led officers to his residence in Witemere slums on the outskirts of the town.
In the gruesome discovery, officers found Tamara’s lifeless body stuffed in a gunny bag and buried beneath the bed.
The chilling revelation ignited outrage across the town as angry residents stormed the suspect’s home, expressing fury over what they described as a growing trend of child disappearances ending in murder
Residents carried the child’s body through the town to Nyeri Central police Station, where they clashed with officers while demanding to lynch the suspect.
The protest quickly escalated, with residents pelting the station with stones and lighting bonfires in various streets.
Police responded by firing tear gas to disperse the crowd.
The victim’s body was later moved to the Nyeri County Referral Hospital mortuary.
According to police sources, Mr Macharia works as a porter at Nyeri town’s open-air market.
Speaking to the media, a grief-stricken Ms Wanjiru recounted how the suspect pretended to help in the search.
“He was with us, actively helping to look for her. Little did we know he was the one behind it,” Ms Wanjiru said amid sobs.
CCTV footage from buildings around the market showed the suspect walking with the girl towards the Kiawara slums.
This footage, provided by local business owners, proved crucial in the investigation.
Ms Kabura, the girl’s grandmother, said she was in shock.
“I can’t believe Mr Macharia would do something so cruel to my granddaughter. We want justice.”
Nyeri Town MP Maina Mathenge condemned the incident and urged calm among residents.
“I thank the business community for sharing the CCTV footage with the police. Let’s allow the law to take its course,” Mr Mathenge said.
Police recovered a jembe–hoe–and a spade beneath the suspect’s bed, believed to have been used in the burial.
Investigations into the gruesome incident are ongoing.
