The three suspects implicated in the murder of 8-year-old Shantel Nzembi will be held at Kitengela police station to undergo mental assessment test before being arraigned at Machakos High court on June 24, 2021
Kajiado law court resident magistrate Edwin Mulochi has today ruled that the prime suspect Nativity Mutindi (27), Livingstone Makacha, a Kitengela-based bodaboda rider (27) and Patrick Mureithi (28) to undergo mental assessment test before taking plea.
Mulochi directed that the four will instead be arraigned at Machakos high court.
So far detectives from the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have concluded that Mutindi was holding Shantel at her house and that she was positively identified to have kidnapped the kid from an apartment in Kitengela.
Shantel went missing on May 29, 2021 before kidnappers began calling the on the same day demanding for a ksh300, 000 ramson before her body was discovered at Orata area stashed in a gunny bag.
Makacha was arrested for being in possession of the mobile phone that kidnappers used to demand for the ramson and it is also believed that he is the person who dumped Shantel's body 200 meters from a bodaboda stage.
Despite claiming that he collected the phone from the scene where police collected Shantel's body, he has failed to produce to detectives the other mobile phone he previously used.
Patrick Mureithi is a Kitengela-based Airtel agent who unlawfully registered the simcard that was used by kidnappers to demand for a ransom.
Detectives privy to the investigations say Mureithi registered the simcard knowing that the person who sort to register it was not the owner of the identity card she presented.
Francis Mbuthia (42) who was arrested at Kiserian after his identity card was used to register the simcard that the kidnappers used has since been released after it was established that he lost his identity card and had reported the matter at Ngong police station.
He has since re-applied for another identity card which he is in possession.
Shantel was buried on June 12, at Mwale village, Mwala subcounty in Machokos County.
In an emotional burial event, her mother Christine Ngina and her family remained upbeat that justice to their daughter will prevail.
