Suspect in murder of two ECDE pupils aged 4 and 5 arrested in Rachuonyo

Police arrested the 19-year-old man at Kogweno Oriang’ West in Rachuonyo North. [James Omoro, Standard]

A 19-year-old man accused of killing two ECDE pupils in Homa Bay County has been arrested.

Police arrested the man at Kogweno Oriang’ West in Rachuonyo North. He was hiding in the bush.

The suspect is accused of killing four-year-old Henry Ochieng and Vantaly Otieno, 5, on Friday.

The man, a friend and servant of one of the boys’ families, allegedly lied to the children that they were going to help him look after cattle. The three never returned home that evening.

This prompted the children's families and the residents to start looking for them.

And on Saturday, they found the bodies of the two minors in River Sare.

The team searching for the minors first found Vantaly’s clothes on the river bank before spotting his body.

About 200 meters away, the residents spotted Henry’ slippers. His body was in the river.

The suspect was found on Tuesday in a bush, about a kilometre from where the bodies were found.

Kogweno Oriang’ West assistant chief Faraja Malit led the search operation.

According to Malit, the suspect’s health was deteriorating due to hunger.

“He lay on the ground, but when he saw us, he attempted to run. He was weak and kept staggering,” Malit said.

His reappearance caused tension in the village.

“I had to liaise with the police to rush to the scene because residents were baying for his blood. The residents accused him of committing a peculiar crime,” Malit said.

He was detained at Kendu Bay Police Station and will be arraigned soon.

Vantaly and Henry were in Pre-Primary Two and Pre-Primary One respectively, at Achuth ECDE centre.

The bodies were taken to Kendu Adventist Hospital Morgue at Gendia.