Kenyan woman held after disappearance of Belgian woman

A woman in Nakuru has been charged in connection with the mysterious disappearance of Belgian national Dysseleer Mireille Lesoipa.

Kiambu Chief Magistrate Patricia Gichohi on Wednesday granted orders allowing the police to continue holding Ms Lucy Waithera Njuguna, the prime suspect in the disappearance of Ms Lesoipa, for an additional eight days as investigations continue.

The accused was arrested on February 1 at her residence in Milimani, Nakuru, with Ms Lesoipa's ATM cards. The foreigner, who detectives suspect was murdered and her body dumped in an unknown place, lived in Nakuru Blankets Estate before her disappearance in early 2019.

Mr Oliver Nabonwe, the lead detective in the case, told the court in a sworn affidavit that in March 2019 immediately after Ms Lesoipa's disappearance, the suspect and her accomplices, who are still at large, leased the missing person's residence to a company identified as Avipro East Africa and started collecting rent.

They later gave Ms Lesoipa's lawyer a death certificate alleging that she had died at MP Shah Hospital on July 14, 2019.

"The said death certificate was used to file a succession cause No. 40/2019 at the Nakuru High Court in respect to the missing person's estate where the respondent is one of the beneficiaries," Mr Nabonwe says in his affidavit, in which he also revealed that the death certificate was a forgery.

"The death certificate has since been confirmed to be unauthentic by the State Department of Civil Registration. MP Shah Hospital through its medical director has attested that the missing person was neither treated, nor passed on, at their facility," says the detective.

Ms Njuguna was also found in possession of Ms Lasoipa's passport, with "immigration stamps indicating that (Ms Lesoipa) travelled to India on December 12, 2018 and returned on June 30, 2019."

Ms Njuguna explained she had visited Ms Lesoipa at Janaupuri Bhagat Hospital, where she had been admitted since December 2018, but detectives have disputed this theory, saying neither Ms Lesoipa nor Ms Njuguna travelled to India from Kenya.

" The respondent has been changing her assertions at one time alleging that (Ms Lesoipa) died in a hospital in India and was cremated at Kariokor. The crematoriums at Kariokor and Langata have no (such) records," says the investigator.

Mr Nabonwe told the court that releasing the accused on cash bail or a bond may jeopardise their investigations owing to the seriousness of the case and because the accused has been in contact with possible witnesses and other persons of interest.

"Our investigations have revealed that the respondent is directly linked to the disappearance of the missing person believed to be dead and if released ... will interfere with investigations," he said.

Ms Gichohi allowed police to detain the suspect at the Muthaiga Police Station for eight more days. The suspect has been in police custody for 11 days.

The magistrate noted that the issue is complex and requires more time.

Stressing that Ms Lesoipa has a constitutional right to life and liberty, Ms Gichohi said that the matter depicts a suspect who wishes to benefit from the violation of such rights.

The magistrate also noted that the suspect is said to have presented false documents in an attempt to benefit from the victim's property.

She said there is no law that compels investigators to reveal the details of their investigations to suspects before investigations are completed.