Suspects in murder of hairdresser Jane Mwende detained for 10 days amid probe

Evelyn Wanza Katumbu and Faith Nthemba Kyalo were arraigned on miscellaneous charges at Mavoko Law Courts on Wednesday.

However, the man at the center of the investigation, Januaris Musau, was released.

Police received information that Mwende may have vanished as a result of a love triangle involving Musau, alias Shady, his wife, and another woman in the area identified as Phyllis Mbithi.

The decomposing body of the 29-year-old Mwende was discovered dumped in a pit latrine in the Mlolongo area after the suspects led the police to the scene.

The suspects who were arrested last week in connection to Mwende's disappearance had earlier misled the detectives to a Magongo forest in Wote area of Makueni County.

In a dramatic turn of events, the suspects would later change the narrative, leading the police to Kiserian before revealing the actual scene where Mwende's body was discovered.

Mwende is said to have received a phone call early on the morning of Friday, August 25th, from a person posing as a client in need of her hairdressing services at their home. She left, never to return.

“She received a phone call and after leaving, she has never returned to work,” recounts Winnie Munyau, a hairdresser at the salon.

“She left the salon but did not say where she heading to. She just picked her phone and left…” added Jennifer Mwende who also works at the salon.

Concerns escalated when Jane failed to report to work the following day, and her phone remained switched off.

Jane's disappearance became apparent when she failed to pick up her child from her Yatta home in Machakos after the August holiday.

A manhunt has meanwhile been launched for the main suspect, who is still at large, as the two detained suspects are set to face murder charges.