NABBED: Murder suspect Norman Githae (L) with ACK Pastor Julius Kimani. | image source: the-star.co.ke
A murder suspect in Murang’a county who escaped police custody on Sunday was re-arrested on Tuesday after he was found hiding under a bed in a house belonging to ACK Pastor Julius Kimani during a manhunt in Gatheru village
Norman Githae, 20, is accused of sodomising and murdering an eight-year-old boy on Wednesday last week.
“When we were informed that the suspect had been found, we rushed to the scene only to find the villagers beating them up, but we were able to save them,” area police boss Johnstone Limo said.
He said the pastor had covered the suspect with his clothes but villagers had spotted Githae sneak into the home.
Limo said police are trying to establish the relationship between the two and why the suspect decided to seek refuge at the pastor’s home.
The pastor told police he hid the suspect to shield him from residents who wanted to lynch him.
Limo said the pastor will be charged with abetting Githae’s escape from police custody.
“We are interrogating the two to get more information because we have never seen this before,” he said.
Githae was being held at Murang’a Police Station after a court ordered his mental assessment before his murder case commenced.
Githae escaped by scaling the wall around the cells and fleeing without the knowledge of officers manning the cells.
- The STAR