A family cries for justice after a Belgian lady linked to the murder of a Kenyan man in Diani was allowed to leave the country despite being a prime suspect.

Monday, November 25, 2024 - A Kenyan family is still waiting for a response from the Belgium Embassy regarding the death of their 33-year-old son who was murdered under mysterious circumstances in Diani.

The family is calling for a key suspect in the murder case Ms. Lauren Lotruglio to return to Kenya to assist in the investigations.

In a letter dated March 19, 2024, addressed to the Belgian Ambassador to Kenya, Mr. Peter Maddens, the family, through the father of the deceased, is urging the embassy to intervene in their pursuit of justice.

“This letter is to notify you that a Belgian citizen, Ms. Lauren Lotruglio (suspect), is implicated in a murder case involving my son, the late Kennedy Olilo Obuma,” Mr. James Obura Obonyo writes.

Mr. Obonyo explains that the murder occurred on November 5, 2023, in Diani, Kwale County. On the night of the murder, the deceased was last seen with the two suspects, Ms. Lauren and Mr. Carlos, at a hotel resort in Diani, where they had dinner.

“After dinner, the deceased was taken by Ms. Lauren and Mr. Carlos to a home where he was supposed to spend the night. Upon arrival at the property, the two suspects locked my son in the house, leaving him inside until the following day when his body was discovered in a gruesome murder scene,” he says.

He states that the local police in Diani were notified of the murder and recorded statements from both suspects, Ms. Lauren and Mr. Carlos.

The father is perturbed by how Ms. Lauren was allowed to leave the country despite being a key suspect in the case.

This is because, when the body was discovered, Ms. Lauren had handed over her passport to the local police, as per usual protocol.

Shockingly, even before the investigations were complete, her passport was returned to her, and she was allowed to travel back to Belgium on November 9, 2023, just three days after the murder.

The father wrote a complaint letter dated June 25, 2024, to the Director of Criminal Investigations, Homicide Department, Mr. Martin Nyuguto.

He informed Mr. Nyuguto that on May 22, 2024, DCI officers met with his family in Mombasa to gather statements from Zipporah Tabu Obura, the mother of the deceased; Gilbert Wesonga, the deceased's uncle; and himself.

He added that the family was dissatisfied with how Gilbert Wesonga’s statement was handled.

“Gilbert had a typed statement consisting of six pages, which he wanted to present to the DCI officer. The DCI officer handpicked the contents of pages 2 and 3 of Gilbert's statement and completely disregarded pages 4, 5, and 6,” he disclosed.

He further explained that the DCI officer stated she would only record what was relevant based on the questions she was asking the witness at that time.

“She added that the omitted statement would be expounded in court at a later date. The omitted content is key material to the case and is not hearsay,” he said.

The family is now seeking assistance from relevant authorities after losing faith in local police officers.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.