Five suspects arrested after student fell to death at apartment in Ruaka

Five suspects arrested in connection with the death of a 23-year-old college student who allegedly fell from a seven-storey building in Gacharage, Ruaka will remain in custody for 10 days as police conclude investigations into the incident.

The late Catherine Njeri, a student at Kenya Institute of Management, had visited her friend for a party at their apartment last Sunday before tragedy struck while she was on the rooftop with the friend’s boyfriend.

At around 9:30 pm, Njeri left the house in the company of her friend’s boyfriend and went to the rooftop where there is a pavilion.

At around 11pm, the apartment's caretaker Elvis Mboi heard a loud bang and upon searching saw Njeri's body lying on the ground floor in a pool of blood.

 “Ni kama huyo msichana alitoka na tenant wetu wakapanda seventh floor pavilion, tenant anaishi sixth floor so sisi tukiwa hapa chini ndio tuliskia sauti ni kama mkeka imeanguka juu gari ilikuwa pale singeweza kuidentify directly ndio nikapanda mahali nikaona ni mtu hapo ndio nikapigia polisi," Mboi told Citizen Digital.

Mboi soon after informed Njeri's friends who were still in the house partying and they all rushed outside to check on the deceased.

“Walikuwa scared wote. Hata wenye walikuwa wamelala  walishuka wakijaribu kuona vile watasaidiana. Mmoja wao alikuwa anataka kumfunika lakini police waliniambia mtu asiguze hiyo mwili nikamkataza," he said.

The body of the late Njeri was taken to Kihara Hospital mortuary by police awaiting the postmortem exercise to determine the cause of her death.

"As the deceased's family, we want to find out whether she was pushed to her death or whether she jumped and what exactly transpired on the rooftop," Victoria Njeri, the deceased's sister, said.

Kiambaa Deputy County Commissioner Peter Maina confirmed the arrest of three men and two women in connection to the incident.

“At the time of the incident she was in the company of five people in that room and those are the people in custody now helping police with investigations," said Maina.

Njeri’s family hopes that the truth behind their daughter's death will be revealed once investigations into the incident are concluded.