Police investigate Jamal’s death as suspect charged

Suspect in Jamal’s murder Grace Kanamu Namu.

A get-together for friends and business partners to usher in Jamhuri Day turned tragic as KTN actor Jamal Rashid was stabbed to death.

According to police officers and witnesses, Jamal aka ‘Baba Junior’ had been invited to the party hosted by his neighbour and business partner identified only as David. The party was to be held at a bar and restaurant in Athi River.

Jamal and his girlfriend Grace Kanamu Namu arrived about two hours early and opted to kill time in a bar opposite the venue for the planned party.

At about 7.30pm, Jamal and Grace joined the group of about 20 people in one of the rooms reserved for meetings – a self-contained room with a kitchenette where the team’s meal was being prepared.

The friends said Jamal was not in a good mood and he openly quarrelled Grace on claims that when he is away, she flirts with other men who buy her alcohol.

“Throughout the time, Grace denied the claims but Jamal did not relent. That was not the first time the two were arguing in public for the nine months that they have been dating, so we did not pay much attention,” said a witness.

A few minutes past midnight, the quarrel heightened as the two are said to have moved into the kitchenette.

“It is at this point that things got out of hand,” said a police officer involved in investigations.

But Grace, who is in police custody as investigations are underway, told the police that Jamal fell on the knife during an argument.

A restaurant worker who was serving them raised the alarm, prompting Jamal’s friends to respond to the emergency, which had initially been dismissed as a minor attack.

“Two men identified as MaDVD and another Festus offered to drive Jamal to a nearby hospital,” said the police officer at Mlolongo Police Station.

Upon reaching the hospital at around 4am, the doctor on duty said Jamal had already died and declined to receive the body without a notice from the police.

“The two men, for fear of being implicated, returned the body to the now deserted crime scene.

According to the witnesses working at the restaurant, Grace called her daughter who assisted her load the body into Jamal’s car before they drove off.

Shalom Hospital where Jamal had been rushed informed Mlolongo Police Station of the case and gave the vehicle registration number, which the officers used to track it along Mombasa Road.

Jamal’s body was taken to Shalom Hospital for a postmortem upon the request from the family before it was released for burial.

Athi River OCPD Sharma Wario said preliminary investigations showed that the two had been arguing for a while before the situation got out of hand, leading to the stabbing.

“We have requested the Mavoko Court to allow us to hold the suspect as we finish up with the investigations. We are also looking for the two men who took Jamal to the hospital before returning his body to the scene,” he said.

Grace appeared before Senior Principal Magistrate C Oluoch, but did not take any plea. The prosecution requested to be granted five more days to complete investigations.

The court granted the prosecution’s prayers and directed that the suspect appears for mention of the case on December 18. She will be detained at Mlolongo Police Station.

City lawyer Cliff Ombeta, who represented the accused, sought the court’s permission to have the suspect taken to hospital for medication, a request the court granted.

Grace was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly stabbing her boyfriend Jamal to death.

A police report shows she is alleged to have stabbed the actor at Arks Hotel on Tuesday night following a bitter quarrel.

A Good Samaritan called Athi River Police Station and made a report at 6.15am. It was recorded under OB No. 08/12/12/2018.

“It was reported that Jamal Nassul Gaddafi, 39, was having a party at Arks Hotel near 67 Airport Hotel on the night of December 11, 2018. There was a quarrel between him and his friend Grace Kanamu Namu, 40. She picked a knife and stabbed him,” reads the police report in part.

Jamal was then rushed to Shalom Community Hospital in Athi River where he was pronounced dead on arrival.