The quiet rural community of Maliku in Katulani district, Kitui County was left in shock following the brutal murder of a 17-year-old Form Two student, Syengo Nyamai.
Form Two student dies after secretly winning Sh200,000 bet
DCI detectives are investigating the death of a high school student who was killed after winning a Sh200,000 bet
Syengo Nyamai
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Nyamai had won Sh200,000 in a bet two weeks prior to his untimely death.
His body was discovered in a thicket, a few kilometres from his home, with his eyes gouged out, a broken right hand, and head injuries.
The student, who used a neighbour's details to register his sim card, had kept his Sh200,000 winnings a secret from his family.
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File image of police at a scene of crime
Pulse Live Kenya
“We knew he had a phone, but never bothered to establish which ID number he used to register his mobile line because he had not yet attained the age of acquiring his own national ID card,” said his brother Munyithya Nyamai.
The deceased had also started plans to enroll in a boarding school but did not divulge to his family how he planned to meet the extra expenses.
Last seen
Syengo was last seen on the morning of Monday, February 27, when he left for school as usual. However, he never arrived there.
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The family became worried when he failed to return home in the evening on the second day, and upon checking, they were told he had not been to school. They reported him missing to the area chief.
Six days later, his body was found in a thicket a few kilometres from his rural home in the Maliku area in Katulani District.
The scene where his body was found had motorcycle tyre tracks and police suspect he might have been killed elsewhere and his body ferried to the dumping place.
Two friends arrested
Police arrested two friends who were last seen with the deceased and in whom he had confided news of his winnings.
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According to his elder brother Nyamai, Syengo had told his friends he planned to travel to Likoni in Mombasa County to see some friends who had invited him.
File image of a police vehicle at a crime scene
Pulse Live Kenya
One of the friends who is in police custody came forward and told the family that Syengo had given him his SIM card registration details, including the ID number used, mobile number, M-Pesa Pin, and the mobile handset lock Pin to help in replacing the line that had won the betting bonus.
Katulani DCI boss Collins Karanja told the media police also want to establish whether Syengo's winning were withdrawn following his death.
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