Charles Oluenyi, the 37-year-old man who was on Wednesday arrested in Kayole, Nairobi while attempting suicide after he allegedly killed his girlfriend, has been taken to Kenyatta National Hospital for urgent medical attention.

Oluenyi, who had been detained at the Buruburu Police Station, was rushed to the KNH in critical condition after he passed out Wednesday night, K24 Digital has learnt.

Oluenyi lost a lot of blood after he stabbed himself in the neck while threatening to commit suicide while atop a seven storeyed building in Kayole.

DCI detectives had to plead with the suspect to stop him from executing his suicidal ideation.

Clinging on to balcony rails on the seventh floor of the apartment, Oluenyi held two knives in his hands, saying he could be only arrested after “I have died”.

It was the two knives that he used to stab himself in the neck.

Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives said they traced the suspect to the Kayole junction building, where he lives, by tracking his phone signal.

Who is Charles Oluenyi?

Little information is known about the suspect, though multiple interviews conducted by K24 Digital suggest Oluenyi, of late, has been a quiet and disturbed man.

“He is an easily irritable person. One moment, he is happy and laughing with you, minutes later he is mad at you; most times, over very petty things,” a source who worked with Oluenyi at a now-closed radio station, told K24 Digital.

Until the time the station was closed and, thereafter, sold to an interested investor, Oluenyi worked as a sales person. It remains unclear what economic activity/activities he engaged in after leaving the wound-up company.

Oluenyi’s alleged crime

Last Thursday (January 21), police in Nairobi launched a hunt for Oluenyi, who had that morning allegedly killed his girlfriend and set her body on fire.

Margaret Muchemi, a resident of Njiru in Kasarani Sub-County, had invited the suspect, her estranged boyfriend, to her home to “iron out their differences”.

Muchemi, who had medical training, operated a private clinic in Mwiki, Kasarani.

The suspect, who was carrying a backpack, arrived at the deceased’s home at around 8am Thursday, Muchemi’s two house-helps, Damaris Nyamusi and Zainab Naila, told K24 Digital.

“We offered him tea, but he said he was okay. All through, he cut a figure of a quiet and disturbed man,” said the nannies.

After a while, Muchemi, a 34-year-old mother of one (a 4-year-old son), asked Nyamusi and Naila to both go buy meat at a nearby butcher’s shop.

“She told us she would pay via M-Pesa,” said Nyamusi.

“When we reached the butcher’s shop and ordered meat costing Ksh500, we called our employer and asked her to send the money, but she said she hadn’t loaded cash to her M-Pesa wallet. Consequently, we left the meat and returned home,” said Nyamusi.

“Upon arrival, Muchemi, who was visibly irritated, asked us why we couldn’t let her talk in private with her boyfriend. She, thereafter, gave us Ksh500 and told us to go buy the meat and hang around until she was ready to have us back in the house.

“Hours passed by, and we hadn’t received a call from her. One of us (nannies) called and told her that we were hungry, and wanted to go back home and eat. Muchemi, whose intention was to keep us out longer, sent us money and said we should eat at any nearby restaurant,” said the other house-help, Naila.

The nannies said while having their meals, one of their neighbours called and informed them that their house was on fire.

“We rushed home and found smoke billowing from our boss’s bedroom. Neighbours had attempted to put out the fire. On accessing our employer’s room, we found her arms and legs tied to the bed, and her body charred by the flames. Her face was completely destroyed by the fire. Her estranged lover, was nowhere to be seen,” said Naila.

After a spirited effort by the neighbours, the inferno was contained.

Nyamusi claimed that on Wednesday night she heard her boss speaking with her lawyer on phone saying that her (Muchemi’s) estranged boyfriend was demanding Ksh37,000 which he had lent her.

“She said the man had threatened to come collect the money today (Thursday, January 21),” said Nyamusi.

It remains unclear whether the suspect killed Muchemi over the debt or it was a case of love gone sour.

Police arrived at the scene at 4:30pm Thursday and collected Muchemi’s body for preservation at City Mortuary.

Kayole OCPD Paul Wambugu confirmed the incident to K24 Digital.

The nannies, Nyamusi, who had been working for Muchemi for three weeks, and Naila, who was three days old at Muchemi’s home, said it was the first time they were meeting their employer’s estranged boyfriend.

“What we know is that our boss had separated from her lover months ago,” said the nannies.

Muchemi’s landlord, Mark Odete, described the deceased as a joyful and peace-loving woman.