Beatrice Awuor Odongo, the mother of the three-year-old girl tragically murdered in April 2024 in Lucky Summer, gave a harrowing account of the events leading up to and following her daughter’s death during her testimony at Milimani High Court.
Awuor stated clearly that she had no personal relationship with former Kenyan footballer Collins Okoth, popularly known as Gattuso, who has been implicated in the case. Although they lived in the same residential compound and even on the same floor, she described their acquaintance as minimal, limited to occasional greetings on the stairs. She emphasized that she neither knew him well nor had any romantic or friendly involvement with him.
However, the court heard that Collins Okoth had shown romantic interest in Awuor’s friend and housemate, Sylvia Aoko. Sylvia had confided in Awuor about Okoth’s advances, but Awuor insisted that Okoth never entered their shared house or interacted with her daughter. The two women had a longstanding friendship dating back to 2011, having reconnected in Nairobi after finishing school. Sylvia had lived with Awuor for several years intermittently, and their relationship was mostly peaceful apart from minor scuffles, which they generally resolved.
Awuor revealed that after parting ways with her then-husband, Alex Wanga, Sylvia had kindly agreed to host her and her daughter. However, tensions arose when Sylvia began demanding repayment of Ksh15,000 she had lent Awuor. At the time, Awuor was the primary breadwinner, covering all household expenses, while Sylvia was unemployed. Awuor promised to repay the loan gradually but struggled to meet the demands.
One Saturday, about a week before her daughter’s death, Awuor said they had a quarrel over this money, after which Sylvia left the house angrily without disclosing her whereabouts. When Sylvia returned, the relationship between the two women deteriorated, and Awuor noticed that Sylvia’s hostility had extended to her young daughter.
On the night of April 21, 2024, Awuor left her daughter sleeping soundly around 1 a.m. after dressing her warmly for the night. She went out to sell kahawa and sim-sim as part of her usual routine, leaving the child safely in bed. However, when she returned home at about 4 a.m., she found the gate ajar despite having locked it earlier. Rushing inside, she discovered the front door wide open and her daughter’s clothes strewn on the floor.
The little girl had been dressed in dark blue tights with white polka dots, a maroon full-neck top, white socks, and a diaper, all of which were presented in court as evidence. Overcome with grief, Awuor frantically searched for her daughter, suspecting initially that her ex-husband might have taken her, though he was unfamiliar with her home.
While still searching, Awuor received a call from Brian, the caretaker at her residence, who informed her that her daughter’s body had been found. By the time she returned, the police had already collected the child’s remains. At the police station, she encountered her baby’s father, who was being held in custody.
The caretaker also reported finding a knife at the window of the main suspect’s residence, which he believed had been used to break the padlock on Awuor’s gate, enabling access to the house. The caretaker was instructed by the police to film the knife in situ and deliver the footage to the station, which he did.
Awuor herself was subsequently arrested along with Sylvia. Both women were taken to Ruaraka Police Station for questioning before being detained. The next day, they were arraigned at Makadara Law Courts and remanded in custody for 21 days as per the Director of Criminal Investigations’ request.
While in detention, Awuor endured further heartbreak when her daughter’s postmortem and burial took place without her presence or knowledge. She was promised the opportunity to attend the procedures, but instead, the funeral proceeded quietly at her father’s rural home. She only found out about the burial after a friend visiting her showed her photos shared on social media.
Throughout her testimony, Awuor’s grief was palpable as she recounted the traumatic experience of losing her young daughter and the pain of being denied the chance to grieve properly through attending the funeral. The case continues to unfold in court as the investigation into the tragic murder progresses.
