Harrowing CCTV footage has uncovered the last known sightings of a 12-year-old Grade 7 pupil before she was found murdered on Saturday, December 6.
The pupil, identified as Patience Mumbe, was found dead in KAA estate in Embakasi in what detectives believe is a homicide, particularly after the emergence of fresh evidence.
In one of the surveillance clips, Patience can be seen running from her house in Pipeline Estate towards Outering Road. At this point, nothing seemed out of the ordinary and the time on the footage read 6:34 p.m.
Another camera captures the girl walking hurriedly within the estate, still making her way towards Outering Road. At this point, Mumbe had slowed her pace and was walking hurriedly instead of running.
A curious detail about this footage was that as she was walking, Mumbe took a quick glance behind her as if to ensure she was not being followed.
Finally, a third clip captured Mumbe heading towards a matatu terminus popularly referred to as Taj Mall, around two minutes after the initial clip captured her.
From what the CCTV captures, there was no immediate evidence that anyone was trailing her. Mumbe was dressed in a white top and black jeans at the time of her disappearance.
The final clip showed Mumbe heading at the heart of the matatu terminus, and that was the last sighting before she was reported missing, only for her body to be discovered barely 48 hours later.
According to one witness, there were signs that the deceased suffered a brutal attack since her hands and legs were bound with rope. One of the biggest suggestions of an assault was the fact that there was bleeding on her face and private areas.
Detectives from Embakasi have since launched a probe into Mumbe's death in collaboration with the Nairobi Area Crime Unit. On Sunday, a day after her body was discovered, detectives returned to the crime scene to conduct a detailed search for additional evidence which could potentially help identify the perpetrators.
Besides CCTV footage, detectives are also reviewing vehicle movements and communication records from the neighbourhood as they pursue more leads.
Worryingly, this is the fourth incident of kidnapping of children in the Embakasi area in less than a month, with area residents now living in fear ahead of Christmas festivities.
