7-year-old girl raped and murdered in Kilifi

A family in Kilifi is seeking justice for their 7-year-old daughter who was abducted, raped and brutally murdered on Sunday.

Police reports indicate that the deceased, Bernedict Keziah, had visible injuries on the right side of her face and bruises on her hands.

Speaking at Kilifi hospital, the family said that the victim went missing at around 5:30 pm on Sunday while playing with other children a few metres from their home.

Her body was discovered on Monday on a murram feeder road at Mweza Ngombe village.

On Monday, Faith Namwezi, the girl's mother, said she feels hopeless after losing her.

Namwezi said that she had high hopes in her only child, who was a Grade Two pupil at Kilifi Little Angels Academy, describing the incident as devastating.

She narrated that her daughter was playing with other children in the neighbourhood, but she failed to return home, prompting her to file a missing person report with the police.

"She went playing with other children, but after a while when she failed to come back home, we started searching for her everywhere, including the hospital. When we couldn't find her, we went to file a missing person report at the police station at around 11 pm," she said.

She said that they discovered her daughter's naked body dumped on the road.

Brandon Mutuki, the deceased's father, has called for speedy investigation to ensure justice.

"She was the only child we had. She was a bright kid, and we were very intentional in raising her up. Whoever is going to be involved in handling this case, we need you to understand where we are coming from as parents,” he said.

Silvano Hamaro, the deceased grandmother, wants Parliament to pass legislation providing for the physical castration of child offenders, to curb defilement.

''We need harsh laws to protect our children. Our girls and boys are not safe in society anymore," she said.

The girl’s body was removed to Kilifi County funeral home, awaiting a postmortem.

Police say investigations are ongoing, with detectives working to gather forensic evidence.