Wife of Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) employee and her kin charged with murder plot

Bilhah Njoki Mwangi (from left), Jimmy Ndungu Waititu, Peter Mwangi Gakungi and Lucy Waitherero Mwangi at Makadara courts accused of conspiring to kill Joseph Muraya Mwangi by hiring hitmen.(PHOTO: MOSES OMUSULA/ STANDARD)

A woman, her alleged lover and her two relatives were yesterday charged with the attempted murder of a Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) employee.

The woman, Bilhah Njoki, her alleged boyfriend Jimmy Ndung'u Waititu, her brother Peter Mwangi Gakungi and sister Lucy Waitherero Mwangi were yesterday charged with attempt to murder.

Together with others who were not in court, they were accused of hiring hitmen to kill Joseph Muraya Mwangi of KAA at Mowlem in Nairobi on June 22, 2016.

The four however denied the charges when they appeared before Makadara Chief Magistrate Heston Nyaga.

State Counsel Lilian Ongwara and Daniel Kingori opposed their release on bail on the grounds that the offence was serious and carried a life sentence.

"There is a likelihood that the accused will abscond bail in regard to the seriousness of the offence," said Ms Ongwara.

She added that the complainant was still in danger and releasing the accused on bail could compound the risk.

Karathe Wandugi, the lawyer for the complainant, also urged the court not to release the accused on bail because Mr Muraya's life was in danger.

"If the court decides to release the accused on bail, then it should consider tough terms," said Mr Wandugi.

Lawyer Peter Macharia, for the accused, opposed the application by the prosecution, saying the offence was bailable.

"Since the accused have pleaded not guilty, it means that they are innocent until proven guilty," said Mr Macharia.

Macharia told the court that the complainant had on several occasions threatened to kill the accused and she had reported the matter at Buru Buru Police Station on April 19, 2016, and May 29, 2016, but nothing was done.

Macharia said they had not been told whether the current matter had been reported to the police.

"The state has a witness protection programme but the accused is seeking his own protection," he said.

Macharia added that the prosecution should also call other witnesses because they could not rely on one witness. He said the accused had a fixture bond and could not abscond, and that both the accused and complainant had been married since 2007 and had children together.

Attend court

He said the accused have been in custody for a week and should be granted bail so they could take care of their children. He told the court that the accused were willing to attend court.

In response to defence claims, prosecutor Kingori said they could not have mentioned all the witnesses because they did not want to go into the merits of the case.

Kingori said Ndung'u, who is the second accused, is not an employee of Njoki's as she alleges but a boyfriend.

He added that the fact that there was an assault was not enough reason to take a man's life.

Kingori said there were proper police channels that the accused could have used.

He added that the accused were arrested while executing their murder plan.

"Ndung'u and Gakungi were arrested as they went to confirm whether Muraya was dead," said Kingori.

The ruling on bail will be delivered tomorrow.