A two-year manhunt for the man suspected of killing popular Ohangla dancer Sheila Odoyo, widely known as Sheila Wegesha, has ended with his arrest across the border in Tanzania, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has said.

The suspect, identified by detectives as Jackson Otieno Bambo, is the dancer's husband. He had been on the run since May 2024, when Sheila was found dead inside her home in Athi River, Machakos County.

According to the DCI, as reported by The Standard and The Star over the weekend, Bambo was traced to Kirongwe, in Tanzania's Shirati area, roughly 70 kilometres from the Muhuru border point in Migori County. Detectives say he had been running a club there and was "hiding in plain sight."

Living under another name

At the time of his arrest, the suspect was allegedly carrying a Tanzanian national identity card in the name of James Babu Olang. The DCI said the document "now forms part of the ongoing investigations."

The arrest followed what investigators described as intelligence-led work and a joint operation involving detectives from the Athi River and Nyatike police stations working with Tanzanian law enforcement officers. The DCI said the case showed "the importance of intelligence-led investigations and cooperation between law enforcement agencies" across borders.

Bambo was first booked at Nyatike Police Station in Migori before being transferred to Athi River Police Station, where he is being held pending arraignment on a murder charge. The Daily Nation reported that he was expected to be presented in court this week. He has not yet taken a plea, and the allegations against him remain unproven.

The killing that shocked the Ohangla scene

Sheila was discovered dead on the morning of May 9, 2024. Pulse Kenya, recounting earlier police findings, reported that her body was found on a blood-soaked bed with a deep cut to the throat.

Detectives at the time named her husband as the prime suspect after he disappeared from the home. The couple's car was later found abandoned in Nairobi's Central Business District, and his last known phone signal was traced to Narok before the trail went cold. Police publicly urged him to surrender in the days after the killing.

Sheila was a well-known figure in Nairobi's Ohangla nightlife, performing in clubs along the Kangundo Road corridor. Pulse reported that she and her husband co-owned a liquor store in Umoja estate, and that neighbours had spoken of a troubled marriage.

Cross-border policing

The arrest is the latest in a series of cases in which Kenyan detectives have leaned on regional police cooperation to trace suspects who fled the country. Investigators are expected to ask the court for more time to complete their file, including inquiries into how the suspect obtained identification documents in Tanzania.

For Sheila's family and fans, who had repeatedly called for justice over the past two years, the arrest offers the first real prospect of the case reaching trial. Once arraigned, the suspect will be entitled to apply for bail, and the prosecution will need to prove its case in court.

Photos: The Standard/DCI (suspect); Bjørn Christian Tørrissen via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Musoma, Mara Region, Tanzania).