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A couple that allegedly tortured their friend’s three-year-old son to death and dumped the body at the mortuary last month was yesterday arrested at the Kenya-Tanzania border.

Phylis Njeri and her husband Jackson Ngui are said to have brutally murdered David Ndung’u as his elder brother Peter Ndung’u, 6, watched painfully.

Their border arrest comes two weeks after boda boda rider Zacharia Nyaora Obadia, the alleged mastermind of a sexual attack on a foreign motorist in Nairobi, was also nabbed as he tried to cross into the neighbouring country.

In the latest incident, the mother of the deceased, Maureen Njoki, said she left her two sons with her friend Njeri for Saudi Arabia to seek greener pastures on October 4 last year.

Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss George Kinoti said after torturing the infant, the suspects attempted to take him to a local dispensary but he had already died. They later dumped the body at the Mama Lucy Hospital in the city.

“Upon realising the gravity of their actions, the murderous couple desperately attempted to seek medication at local chemists,” the DCI boss said.

“Baby David’s body had severe burns on both hands, legs and buttocks. It also had fresh injuries on the neck, the back and face, signifying the extent of torture the minor underwent, before his painful death,” Kinoti added.

Njeri had stayed with the two brothers since January 4, according to the mother. When she left for Saudi Arabia, she initially took the children to her maternal grandmother who turned out to be uncooperative.

On December 23, she sent the children’s father to go for them under the pretext they were being taken for Christmas holidays. The father stayed with them until January 4 before surrendering them to the suspects because he had no fixed abode and could not adequately provide for them.

On Tuesday, police traced the suspects to their hideout at Illasit village, close to the Kenya-Tanzanian border, in an operation conducted by DCI detectives from the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB), the Homicide branch, and Nairobi regional office.

The joint team of detectives conducted thorough investigations into the incident and applied cyber and digital forensics.

“The suspects were traced at their hideout in the remote village in Kajiado County, as they desperately sought to cross the border to Tanzania,” the DCI said.

The DCI boss said though they were still investigating the matter, they had gathered sufficient evidence linking the suspects to the gruesome murder.

“Further forensic analysis conducted at the couple’s house in Kwa Maji area within Mowlem, in Kamukunji sub-county, revealed that the baby was killed in the house before his body was dumped at Mama Lucy Kibaki hospital mortuary,” the DCI.

Among the exhibits so far recovered include a whip that was used to assault the deceased’s elder brother who was beaten senseless and threatened with dire consequences should he reveal what had happened to his brother.

The detectives based at the DCI National Forensic Laboratory, biology division and their scenes of crime counterparts yesterday visited the couple’s house for further DNA analysis of the scene, to obtain more scientific evidence for a watertight case against the suspects.

Gathered evidence

Detectives also intend to grill the caretaker, who is alleged to have forced the deceased’s brother to clean the blood in the house.

The suspects were yesterday brought to Nairobi where they are expected to be charged with murder when investigations are complete.

Njoki said she felt betrayed after her grandmother refused to stay with the children, only for a “good friend” who promised to take good care of them to kill her son.

“I was raised by my maternal grandmother who really mistreated us together with my cousin,” she said.

She added: “My grandma initially refused to stay with the children but she later agreed after I pleaded with her.”

Weeks later the grandmother became uncooperative and on December 23, Njoki asked the father to go for the children under the pretext that he was taking them for Christmas holidays. The father stayed with them until January 4. The young mother then contacted Njeri, who was a teacher at a school where her first-born son Peter used to study.

“I was convinced she would take good care of my children since in the past she was very caring and would even give my son food when he did not carry some to school. Sometimes she could even allow my son to study without school fees,” Njoki said.

“I narrated my ordeal to her and she really encouraged me a lot,” she added.

On February 1, the two spoke on phone and Njoki promised she would send her friend money on February 6 for the children’s upkeep.

“I sent her Sh10,600 and she confirmed receipt and really appreciated. I, however, tried communicating to her the following day in vain,” Njoki said.

On February 10, Njoki called her but the phone was picked by another man. Njoki’s husband later called and he talked with the first-born son who said they were doing fine.

On February 23, the couple brutally murdered the younger son and wrapped his body in a bedsheet before taking it away at night. The first son spent the night alone in the house and woke up the following day and went to school for his graduation. The children’s father, who was doing some manual jobs in Thika, attended the graduation and took a photo which he sent to the mother in Saudi Arabia.

“I saw the photo and knew something was wrong. I told the father that Peter’s smile was fake and he should endeavour to establish what was wrong,” Njeri said.

At this time, she did not know that the younger son had been murdered, in the presence of his brother.

After the graduation, the child was left at the female caretaker’s house as Njeri had disappeared. The father went back to Thika and came back on February 27. He found the caretaker who informed him that Njeri had been missing for the last three days.

They suggested that they should check if they were at Mama Lucy Hospital. He went there and found the son’s body in the mortuary.