Police in Ndia, Kirinyaga County are holding a 38-year-old man on suspicion of raping and murdering his 25-year-old girlfriend.

Salvatora Muthiora Gitia was arrested on Wednesday after the body of the victim, who had been reported missing on Sunday, was found dumped in his home compound.

The deceased was discovered naked from the chest down, with her inner garments found at the crime scene.

Eyewitness reports indicate that Gitia used banana leaves to cover the body in an attempt to conceal it.

"I was called by my neighbours who raised alarm over the body of a woman that was covered with banana leaves. When I arrived, I was able to identify her," Esther Mutugi, the deceased's aunt, told Citizen Digital.

According to James Muriuki, the deceased's uncle, the woman received a phone call from the suspect before she went missing. When she failed to return home that day, her kin inquired about her whereabouts from Gitia's mother, who said she could not confirm her location as she was not at home.

"We were shocked to find that she had been killed in the same place where we were told she was nowhere to be found," Muriuki said.

Confirming the incident, Kirinyaga West Sub-county Police Commander Moses Koskei noted that the deceased is currently being questioned by detectives.

"We suspect he raped the deceased before he killed her as her bra and panties had been removed and they were on the scene," said Koskei.

The deceased's body has since been moved to Karatina Mortuary pending post-mortem, as investigations continue.