3 people linked to murder of Embu College student arrested in Kirinyaga

According to Kirinyaga East sub-county Police commander Johnson Wachira, Jackline Waruguru Kathuri, aged 22, went missing on November 16, and the matter was reported at Kiamutugu police station.

The police boss said detectives have arrested three suspects in connection with Waruguru's murder.

"One suspect hails from Runyenjes in Embu county, while two are from Kiamutugu in Gichugu, Kirinyaga," Wachira said.

Waruguru's mutilated body was discovered on Saturday evening, November 22, 2025, after she went missing a week ago on November 16, 2025, in a coffee plantation at Ngotho, Ngiriambu village in Gichugu.

Waruguru's family, led by her father Moses Kiura, had been searching for her.  Their search ended in tragedy after her decomposing body was found and severely disfigured.

Waruguru was a first-year Human Resource student at Embu College, and the nature of the murder has sparked fear among the residents of Gichugu.

"We are demanding the arrest of those behind the inhuman act," her father said during the burial at Kamagambo village, where students and management of Embu college attended.

According to Dr Peter Williams, a pathologist who conducted the postmortem at Kerugoya mortuary, Waruguru died of strangulation. The decomposing body had a skeletal head, without a right hand or breast.

The pathologist said Waruguru's private parts and organs were also decomposed.