Suspects in Maribel Kapolon's murder deny charges

Two people accused of killing a local magistrate’s daughter have denied the charge.

The court heard that Mr Benson Kimathi Marangu and Mr Francis Otudo, jointly with others not before court, murdered nine-year-old Maribel Kapolon between September 6 and 16.

Marangu is a former prisons officer who worked in Meru. 

They denied the charge when they appeared before Chuka Hugh Court judge Robert Limo.

The pre-trial conference was set for December 17.

Mr Marangu, through his lawyer Elias Mutuma, said they needed more time to go through ‘huge’ documents provided by the prosecution.

Justice Limo set the hearing for their bail application on November 28.

The suspects were first arraigned before Justice Alfred Mabeya at the High Court in Meru Town before the matter was transferred to Chuka. 

This decision was meant to avoid conflict of interest due to the fact that the victim’s mother, Carol Kemei, is a magistrate in the same area. Ms Kemei heads Githongo Law Courts, which is under Meru High Court.

The suspects were expected to take plea on October 22, but failed following delays in transferring files of the case from Meru to Chuka.

On October 29 and November 2, the two also did not take plea as had been planned after the court dismissed a mental assessment report that had been presented in court.

While the names of the suspects appeared in the title of the report, they did not appear in the main body.

Kapolon’s body was found in Gitoro Forest in Meru County, 11 days after her disappearance.

An autopsy showed the killers hit her on the head several times, inflicting several injuries that resulted in her death