Suspect in murder of UoN student Jane Atila detained for 21 days

20-year-old Jane, a second-year student at the University of Nairobi’s Kikuyu Campus, disappeared on October 3, 2025.

The investigation by DCI led to the arrest of 34-year-old Mutua, who was arraigned at Kikuyu law courts on October 25, 2025. He was detained for 21 days as the case is set for mention on November 13, 2025.

According to her guardian, Patrick Mwangale, Jane had left her friends on campus to meet her boyfriend, Mutua, but her phone went off, and she never returned.

Her family reported her missing at Kikuyu police station on October 13, 2025, after days of desperate searching. They had even travelled to Kilgoris following an anonymous call from someone claiming to be a senior police officer, who said he had rescued Atila. The claim later proved to be false.

On October 17, 2025, Jane’s decomposed body was discovered in a thicket in Kefri Muguga Forest. 

Forensic fingerprint identification conducted in coordination with the National Registration Bureau positively confirmed her identity. 

“Preliminary investigations point out that, moments before her disappearance, Atila was in the company of her estranged boyfriend Mutua,” DCI said in a statement on Tuesday.