Suspects charged with murder of activist Caroline Mwatha out on bail

The four suspects accused of killing human rights activist Caroline Mwatha were on Friday granted bail.

In her ruling, Presiding Jugde Jessy Lessit said that the prosecution did not give compelling reasons to deny the accused persons bail.

“I will grant the accused bail but with caution. The accused shall not go to the New Njiru Clinic which is said to be the scene of crime. They shall also not interfere with witnesses,” directed Justice Lessit.

The four; Betty Akinyi, her son Dale Richard Ramoya, Michael Onchiri, and Alexander Gitau will now be required to pay a cash bail of Ksh.300,000 shillings or an alternative Ksh.500, 000 shillings bond with two sureties of similar amount.

In court papers, the four are charged that on the nights of February 6 and February 7, 2019 at Dandora Phase IV within Nairobi County, they murdered Caroline Mwatha and her baby.

Ms. Mwatha was reported to have gone missing on Wednesday, February 6 with her disappearance being reported at Buru Buru Police Station on Friday, February 8, 2019.

Her body was found at the City Mortuary in Nairobi on February 12, 2019.

A post-mortem conducted on her body later revealed that she died due to excessive bleeding following a botched abortion exercise.

The pathologist also stated that the deceased had no other physical injuries on the body besides the needle marks — ruling out any signs of struggle in the events leading to her death.

The suspects all pleaded not guilty.