The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) confirmed that Stanley Odero, a 24‑year‑old resident of Masana Village, was arrested on 13 November 2026 after forensic analysis produced a positive DNA match linking him to the murder of 14‑year‑old Draron Kanagi.

Kanagi’s body was discovered six months after she vanished, lying in a tree plantation in Masana Village, South Maragoli, Vihiga County, where she had been reported missing on the evening of 18 May 2026 while returning home from school.

Preliminary police investigations indicate the girl, a Grade 8 pupil at Hamasana Primary School, was sexually assaulted before being strangled with barbed wire and tied to a tree.

Detectives recovered her schoolbag and other personal items near the scene, and the body was taken to the Vihiga County Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary for a post‑mortem examination.

Odero remains in police custody undergoing standard processing ahead of an expected arraignment in court.

In a public statement, the DCI expressed condolences to Kanagi’s family, relatives and friends and urged the public to share any information through its anonymous reporting channels.

Kanagi’s family had launched a search after she failed to arrive home, which ended tragically when two women collecting firewood found her body the following afternoon.