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The prime suspect in the murder of a woman, her daughter and niece was arrested yesterday after being tracked to his hideout in Eastleigh, Nairobi.

Detectives had initially suspected that Hashim Dagane Muhumed had left Kenya and even extended their manhunt to neighbouring Somalia and Ethiopia.

Muhumed, 24, was taken to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters for questioning and identification. Detectives have drafted several charges against him.

“We acted on information from informers … Preliminary investigations indicate he has been in Nairobi the entire period,” said a senior detective.

Muhumed once worked as a police officer in Ethiopia and was arrested and jailed for killing his wife, according to the DCI. He later fled to Kenya and started a taxi business in Nairobi. Detectives also tracked down his mother to a refugee camp in Kenya.

Investigations revealed that Muhumed was the driver of the Nissan Note that was captured on CCTV cameras picking up the victims from their Eastleigh home on October 21, hours before their bodies were discovered at different locations. The vehicle was found abandoned at the Wakulima Market, near the ENA Coach stage, and towed to the DCI headquarters for forensic examination.

Dispute over ransom Detectives have said the three could have been killed following a dispute over ransom, adding that the abductors became violent after realising that the victims had positively identified them.

Amina Abdirashid Dahir (38), her daughter Waris Dahabo Daud (22), and her niece Nusayba Abdi Mohammed (13), who were buried on Saturday at the Lang’ata cemetery in Nairobi, were reportedly murdered for failing to pay the demanded ransom and for identifying the kidnappers while in captivity.

A suspect and a survivor have told police the killers had demanded ransom from the women before turning on them.

Muhumed is said to have contacted a relative of the victims in London demanding ransom but the relative dismissed him, and this angered him.

“When they realised the women had identified them, they turned brutal and decided to eliminate them and dump their bodies,” a senior DCI officer said.

One suspect was arrested as he tried to escape, and he is believed to have taken ransom of Sh1 million from a woman who survived the kidnapping