Court rules Kiru principal’s murder suspects have case to answer
Jane Muthoni (right) and Isaac Ng'ang'a, who are accused of killing former Kiru Boys High School Principal Solomon Mwangi. A court in Nakuru on November 11, 2019 ruled that they have a case to answer and were put on their defence. PHOTO | FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The two are charged with the murder of Mr Solomon Mbuthi Mwangi.
- The court ruled it would be improper at this point to assess the strengths and the weaknesses of the prosecution evidence.
- The two have been in remand at the Nakuru GK Prison after the court denied them bond.
The wife of murdered principal of Kiru Boys Secondary School in Murang’a has a case to answer, a Nakuru court has ruled.
Justice Joel Ngugi, in his ruling delivered by Justice Janet Mulwa on Monday, found that the evidence presented by the prosecution is sufficient to place Ms Jane Muthoni, a former principal of Icaciri Girls Secondary School, on her defence, alongside her co-accused Isaac Ng’ang’a.
The two are charged with the murder of Mr Solomon Mbuthi Mwangi on diverse dates between November 6 and 1, 2015 at Karakuta Coffee Estate in Juja, Kiambu County.
CASE TO ANSWER
But the court ruled that it would be improper at this point in the case to assess the strengths and the weaknesses of the prosecution evidence by taking a view of the witnesses’ reliability.
“At this point, the less I say the better. The upshot is that the accused persons are consequently found to have a case to answer and are put on their defence,” ruled Justice Ngugi.
The long-awaited ruling on whether the suspects had a case to answer was finally delivered five months after the prosecution closed its case on June 6.
21 WITNESSES
This was after 21 witnesses who were lined up by the prosecution testified against the two suspects in the case that took at least three years.
Among the witnesses was one of the suspects, Mr Joseph Njuguna Kariuki, who later confessed to taking part in the murder, IT experts from Airtel and Safaricom as well as detectives from the homicide unit.
The witnesses told the court that Ms Muthoni, who is the prime suspect in the case, hired killers to eliminate her husband for Sh400,000 each after suspecting him of infidelity.
Mr Mwangi’s mutilated body was discovered in a coffee plantation in Kiambu County five days after he was reported missing.
After the prosecution’s hearing, the widow, through her lawyer Francis Njanja, said she was satisfied with the proceedings of the court which, according to her, would see the court find her with no case to answer.
The two have been in remand at the Nakuru GK Prison after the court denied them bond.
