A 21-year-old Riat College female student was found dead in a forest in Kisumu West, days after she was reported missing, as detectives arrested a suspect over her alleged rape and murder.
Detectives from Kisumu West, working alongside officers from Maseno Police Station and Riat Police Post, recovered the decomposing body in Riat forest.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, the body bore multiple stab wounds, pointing to a violent end.
The discovery followed the earlier arrest of a prime suspect believed to have orchestrated her gang rape, torture and subsequent disappearance on the night of April 5, 2026, in Kisumu’s Milimani area.
The DCI in a report on Monday said that night, what initially appeared to be failed attempts to reach the student due to poor network connectivity quickly escalated into alarm.
“An elder sister to the missing victim grew increasingly anxious after being unable to reach her sister, a student at RIAT College. Her fears were confirmed at midnight when a distressing text message finally came through,” DCI said.
In the message, the student indicated she had been lured into a drinking spree by two male colleagues from the same institution, leaving her incapacitated.
While in that vulnerable state, she was sexually assaulted and later abandoned in a bush in critical condition.
Moments later, her phone went off.
Detectives from Kisumu West Subcounty launched investigations, piecing together the student’s last movements.
Forensic leads placed her last known location in the Milimani area near Kenya Wildlife Service offices, where an initial search failed to trace her.
“Drawing crucial leads from forensic analysis, the team traced the victim’s last known location to Milimani area near Kenya Wildlife Service offices. Despite a thorough search for her, she wasn’t found,” DCI said.
As the probe intensified, investigators identified a suspect who was later arrested.
The suspect, described as a former boyfriend, had allegedly been seen with the heavily drugged student on the night of April 5.
Further investigations revealed the student had received a series of threats over the past two months, with the suspect reportedly making repeated visits to her residence in Riat.
At the time of arrest, detectives recovered exhibits that have since guided the search for the student and other suspects linked to the case.
The discovery of the body has now shifted the case from a missing person inquiry to a murder investigation, as detectives pursue additional suspects believed to have been involved.
The suspect remains in custody and is being processed for arraignment.
Meanwhile, police continue the search for accomplices, as investigators work to piece together the student’s final moments and bring all those involved to account for a case that now lays bare the brutality of a crime that began with deception and ended in death.
