CCTV reveals last moments of Daystar University student trying to jump from a balcony
The Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) officer investigating the death of Lorna Kathambi Karani, a fourth-year student at Daystar University, has told the court that she died while attempting to jump from one balcony to another.
Kathambi died at Harmony Plaza in the Ngara area within Nairobi County on November 23, 2025, after a party with her friends who came from different universities within Nairobi.
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The prosecution had asked the court to detain the seven, Kariuki Gitonga, Louis Osiro, Lucy Mora, Ali Kibwana, Precious Mutembei, Austin Ochieng, and Wendy Kerubo, for seven days to enable them to complete investigations into the matter.
Appearing before Milimani Chief Magistrate Dolphina Alego on Monday, December 1, 2025, officer Johnes Nyangige informed the court that he had finished his investigations and forwarded the file to the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP).
He further revealed that according to the CCTV footage obtained from the building, the deceased died as she tried to jump from one balcony to another in the company of the first respondent (Kariuki Gitonga), who resides in the apartment.
The officer said that Kariuki jumped from the balcony they were in to the other, which is his, successfully, but Kathambi did not manage, leading to her falling from the 12th floor of the apartment and dying instantly.
“So, they tried to jump where they could be able to enter the balcony of the first respondent (Kariuki); after P1 jumped, the deceased followed as per the CCTV footage, and that was the last minute she was seen alive,” Officer Nyangige told the court.
Toxicology report
The court was also informed that at the time of the incident, the deceased was drunk, adding that the toxicology report indicated that she had consumed alcohol.
“In the toxicology, we took some samples of blood from the deceased during the postmortem, which were forwarded for toxicology for analysis, which established the deceased had consumed alcohol,” investigative officer Nyangige informed the court.
According to the court papers, the university students were reported to have arrived at Harmony Plaza on November 23, 2025, at 0227 hours and proceeded to one of the houses at the apartment, where they were heard partying while making noise, shouting, singing and playing guitar, prompting the security guard of the apartment, Patrick Mbugua, to go and order them to stop, which they obeyed.
Four of them then later left the apartment premises at 0410 hours and later returned with Dennis Gitonga, who is a tenant on the 11th floor who informed the guard that the rest were his guests, and the security guard warned them not to make noise.
The security guard states that the group then proceeded to the lift, and it was after a few minutes that he heard a big bang. He hurriedly went to check what had happened and found the body of Kathambi, a 23-year-old, lying dead on the ground floor.
