MISSING 9-YEAR-OLD BODY FOUND IN PIT LATRINE, SUSPECT ARRESTED

Detectives from Mathira West have arrested a suspect and retrieved the body of 9-year-old Shantel Waruguru Kagema from a pit latrine, following an investigation into her disappearance on February 8, 2026.

Shantel was reported missing by her parents after they returned to their Kianjathi village home at approximately 1830hrs and discovered her missing. The parents had left the residence at 0800hrs, leaving Shantel in the care of her 4-year-old sister.

DCI officers launched a search operation, evidence was discovered in a nearby abandoned house: a pair of undergarments and shoes, lying on an old blue mattress. The items were positively identified by Shantel’s mother as belonging to her daughter. Crime Scene Investigations (CSI) personnel processed the scene and detained the items as exhibits.

Through intelligence, detectives identified and apprehended a suspect, Peter Njuguna, a resident of the same area. Upon interrogation, the suspect led investigators to his residence, where he confessed to having disposed of the child’s body in his pit latrine.

With assistance from members of the public, detectives retrieved the lifeless body of the minor. The body has been transferred to a mortuary for post-mortem examination to establish the full cause of death.

Preliminary investigations indicate that on the material day, the suspect cunningly gave Shantel’s younger sister Sh10 to go buy sweets, momentarily leaving Shantel alone and vulnerable. He then allegedly committed an unspeakable act against the child before murdering her and discarding her body.

The suspect, Peter Njuguna, was presented before a court, where detectives obtained a 21-day custodial order to detain him pending comprehensive investigations into this tragic incident.

“This heinous crime against innocent Shantel Waruguru Kagema is not just an attack on one family, but an assault on the very fabric of our communities and our collective conscience. We stand with Shantel’s grieving family and every parent across this nation in declaring that perpetrators of such unspeakable acts against children will face the full force of the law.” The DCI said.