I did not kill Ivy Wangeci, Naftali Kinuthia tells court

Naftali Kinuthia, the sole suspect in the gruesome killing of Moi University student Ivy Wangeci, has been charged with murder.

However, appearing before Eldoret High Court judge Stephen Githinji, the accused denied the charge of killing the medical student.

He was allowed to take plea after the prosecution told the court that a mental assessment conducted on him had confirmed he was fit to stand trial.

Kinuthia, through his lawyer Mbiu Kamau, urged the court to release him on bond arguing that he would not interfere with the case or abscond court. The judge, however, declined to release him on bond or bail.

The judge also rejected an application for the release of the vehicle used by the suspect, noting that the car part of the evidence in the case.

A request by the family of the late Wangeci, through their lawyer Violet Nyakima, for the case to be heard in Nairobi was also rejected by the court on grounds that the incident happened in Eldoret and most witnesses are within the area.

The mention of the case will be on May 9, 2019 and the hearing on May 10, 2019.

Kinuthia is accused of hacking Ivy Wangeci with an axe on April 9 outside the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in a case of unrequited love.

The deceased student was laid to rest on April 18 at the family’s rural home in Mahiga, Nyeri County.