Seven university students have been detained for seven days as investigators probe the mysterious death of a 23-year-old colleague who reportedly fell from the 12th floor of an apartment in Ngara, Nairobi.
The students were arrested over the weekend and presented before the Chief Magistrate’s Court at Milimani on Monday. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) sought more time to complete inquiries into the death of Lorna Kathambi Karani, a university student whose body was found at the base of Harmony Plaza in the early hours of November 24.
Chief Magistrate Dolphina Alego granted the DCI’s request after Corporal Johnes Nyangige filed a miscellaneous application arguing that the matter was a “suspected death under inquiry” requiring extensive forensic work and additional witness statements.
According to investigators, Lorna had been socialising with the seven students on the night of November 23 in a room on the building’s 12th floor. A security guard told police the group had been warned twice that night for making noise, including singing, shouting, and playing a guitar.
At around 4:10 a.m., four members of the group reportedly stepped out of the building briefly before returning. Moments later, the guard heard a loud thud and discovered Lorna’s body on the ground floor with visible injuries.
Police from Parklands Police Station and the DCI visited the scene shortly afterward. Officers say the seven students were the last people seen with the deceased and are therefore persons of interest.
A subsequent search recovered items believed to belong to Lorna, including her clothes, shoes, mobile phone, and national ID.
The DCI told the court that investigators need more time to record statements from witnesses, analyse the suspects’ mobile phones, and retrieve CCTV footage from Harmony Plaza. They also noted that Lorna’s family, who were travelling from Meru, needed time to identify the body to allow a post-mortem examination.
The investigating officer further argued that releasing the students could jeopardise the case, claiming they lack fixed residences and could flee or interfere with ongoing inquiries.
Friends and relatives of both the deceased and the suspects attended the court session, awaiting further direction from investigators as the probe continues.
