Regina Re mother murder case: Granddaughter’s boyfriend freed as court detains actress, daughter for two days

Actress Regina Re and three relatives have been detained for 10 days as detectives investigate the murder of her 86-year-old mother in Loresho. (Photo: Courtesy)

Kibera Law Courts Magistrate Barbara Akinyi allowed the prosecution’s application for the immediate release of Immanuel Munyeki after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) informed the court that investigations had not established his involvement in the killing.

However, the court allowed detectives to continue holding Regina, her daughter Thandie Malaika Wanjiku Gitao and Alton Jimmy Macharia for two more working days to complete investigations.

In her ruling, Ms Akinyi said the prosecution had presented compelling reasons to warrant the continued detention of the three suspects for further interrogation.

The suspects will remain at Gigiri Police Station as detectives finalise investigations into the killing of Macharia, who was found dead at her Loresho Ridge Estate residence on October 31, 2026.

Prosecuting counsel Faith Musona told the court that detectives had made significant progress, with eight witnesses having recorded statements and CCTV footage from the estate analysed.

“The postmortem has been conducted, and eight witnesses have recorded statements,” Musona told the court.

The prosecution further disclosed that a senior counsel who had been representing the deceased’s family had since been turned into a prosecution witness.

The defence, through lawyer David Oyatta, opposed the request for further detention, arguing that Thandie was a student who needed to attend school and prepare for her examinations.

The lawyer also opposed keeping the suspects in custody for additional days, urging the court to consider their circumstances.

The magistrate, however, declined to allow the three suspects to attend their grandmother’s burial scheduled for Tuesday, saying they would remain in police custody as investigations continued.

Investigators had initially sought 15 days to detain the four suspects, arguing that they needed time to analyse CCTV recordings, conduct forensic examinations, obtain fingerprints and mobile phone call data records and record statements from key witnesses.

Police told the court that the deceased had allegedly disagreed with her granddaughter after finding her in a compromising situation with her boyfriend at the family residence.

The elderly woman reportedly ordered Thandie to leave the house and surrender her room keys before calling her son for assistance.

Macharia was later found lying in a pool of blood with a deep cut wound on the left side of her neck.

The three suspects are being investigated for murder contrary to Section 203 as read with Section 204 of the Penal Code.

The matter will be mentioned on November 17, 2026, for further directions.