By Wahome Thuku

At a remote village in Laikipia District lived two brothers, Kamuri and Wachira and their sister Karungari.

The brothers lived in a two-roomed timber house each occupying one room. Karungari lived in another house in a different compound.

Wachira worked as a casual labourer in Muthoni’s farm about 300 metres from their house. It was not clear what Kamuri did for a living.

Sometime in February 2005, Muthoni hired Wachira for several days. On the first day they worked together until 5pm.

Neighbours peep through a window to see the bodyof a man who was killed in his house. Photo/ Boniface Thuku/ Standard

Wachira went to a local communal grazing field to meet his friends.

Muthoni expected him at the farm the following morning, but he did not show up.

She went to their house at 7am and knocked at his door. She then called Wachira several times but there was no response. His brother was also not in the house.

When Karungari heard Muthoni calling her brother, she told her to call him louder since he was probably asleep.

They both called him again but Wachira did not answer. Muthoni went back to her farm.

Hours later, another neighbour, Njoki went to see Karungari at her house. Karungari narrated to her how they had tried to call her brother but he was asleep. She asked Njoki to accompany her to Wachira’s house to find out why he was not answering.

When they got there, Njoki opened the door that was still unlocked and they froze in shock.

On the bed lay Wachira’s body, which had deep cuts on the head and fresh blood dripping onto the earth floor. He still wore his clothes and shoes. His utensils were scattered all over the house.

The two women began screaming and wailing prompting neighbours to respond. A large crowd gathered in the homestead. A neighbour called the police.

Before the body had been removed, a Police Constable conducted preliminary investigations. He formed the opinion that Wachira had been murdered in the room. There was a struggle before the killing.

Police then noticed drips of blood leading into the room occupied by Kamuri who was not in the compound.

His door was also unlocked. Police opened the room and immediately saw a blood stained axe. It was still wet and appeared to have been wiped. Further in the room, they saw blood soaked pair of trousers and two shirts.

Kamuri became the prime suspect and was arrested the same day.

He told investigators that he had spent the night in his room but had no hand in his brother’s death. Kamuri had no scars on his body and police concluded that the blood found in his room was that of his brother.

They sent the clothes to Government Chemists for blood analysis.

Kamuri was charged in the High Court in Nakuru with the murder. Six witnesses were called to testify against him. The bloody clothes and axe were produced as exhibits. But no report on the blood analysis was ever produced in court.

The prosecution’s case was that he either killed his brother or organised the murder with one witness claiming there was bad blood between them.

Kamuri’s argument was that no one saw him commit the murder. There was no evidence that the blood in his room and the clothes were his brother’s. Moreover, both doors were unlocked and anyone may have killed Wachira and hidden the items in Kamuri’s room. What would be your verdict?