Seven university students have been arrested and presented in court following the death of 23-year-old university student Lorna Kathambi Karani, who died after reportedly falling from the 12th floor of an apartment in the Ngara area of Nairobi.
A Milimani Chief Magistrate’s Court on Monday granted the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) seven days to continue holding the suspects as investigations proceed. Chief Magistrate Dolphina Alego issued the order after the DCI, through Corporal Johnes Nyangige, sought additional time to conclude inquiries into the incident, which is being treated as a suspected death under inquiry.
According to police, Lorna had been socialising with a group of university students on the night of November 23 in a 12th-floor apartment. A security guard told investigators that the group had earlier been warned twice for making noise — including shouting, singing, and playing a guitar.
At around 4:10 a.m., four members of the group briefly left the building and later returned. Shortly afterwards, the guard heard a loud noise and discovered Lorna’s body on the ground floor, with visible injuries consistent with a fall from height.
The incident was reported to Parklands Police Station, and officers from both the station and the DCI visited the scene. Police say the seven students were among the last people seen with the deceased and are therefore being treated as persons of interest.
A search conducted by investigators led to the recovery of several items believed to belong to Lorna, including clothing, shoes, her mobile phone, and her national ID. The students had reportedly gathered at a colleague’s apartment for a social evening before the incident occurred.
Friends and family members of the deceased were present at Milimani Court as the seven students were arraigned.
