Court finds prime suspect in Starlet Wahu murder has case to answer

Socialite Starlet Wahu. 

The High Court has ruled that John Matara, the prime suspect in the brutal murder of socialite Starlet Wahu at an online-based rental in South B has a case to answer.

Justice Alexander Muteti, presiding over the matter at the Milimani High Court, delivered the ruling today, May 22, 2026, following the closure of the prosecution's case. 

In his ruling, the judge found that the prosecution had established a prima facie case and ordered Matara to be placed on his defence.

" After evaluation of the evidence on record l find that the prosecution has presented sufficient evidence against Matara. The accused shall be placed on his defence," Justice Muteti ruled.

Wahu, the younger sister of city pastor Victor Kanyari, was found brutally murdered in a short-stay apartment in South B, Nairobi, on January 4, 2024.

Her death sent shockwaves across the country and ignited widespread public outrage.

The ruling came after a prosecution closed its case following a phase during which damning evidence was placed before the court.

Among key state witnesses who testified in the case include a government analyst, Ms Emily Okworo of the Government Chemist who stated that blood samples recovered from the Airbnb apartment were consistent with those taken from Wahu's body, and that semen extracted from a used condom found at the scene matched Matara's DNA profile.

Investigators also told the court that CCTV footage from the apartment building captured a person running out of the house where Wahu's body was later discovered, and that the clothes worn by the individual matched the description given by the building's watchman.

The rental unit had been booked in Matara's name on the material day at around 5pm.

Crime scene officers and forensic experts who also took the stand painted a chilling picture of the murder scene, describing it as gruesome, and tendered a series of photographs that captured the grim reality inside the Airbnb unit, blood splattered across the room, a blood-stained knife, a condom, a white towel, and two used HIV test kits.

The exhibits, recovered from Room Y32 at Papino Apartments in South B, were formally tabled before the Milimani High Court as the prosecution built its case linking Matara to the scene where the 24-year-old socialite met her death on the night of January 3, 2024.  

The trial also heard that a crucial piece of evidence on Matara's mobile phone, marked as Exhibit B in court , had been formatted before it reached forensic analysts, wiping all stored data including text messages, images, videos, and WhatsApp conversations that could have shed light on communication between the suspect and the victim.

The last prosecution witness, Dr Maturi Marvin, a medical officer at Mbagathi Hospital, told the court that Matara was brought to the facility on January 4, 2024, at 12:07 am with cut wounds and bruises on his upper and lower limbs, which were treated at the casualty's minor theatre.

During cross-examination, defence lawyer Samuel Ayora pressed the doctor on the nature of the injuries.

 "When you were doing an observation on the patient, were you able to tell what type of injuries they had? Were they defensive?" Ayora asked. The doctor responded that he was not able to make that determination.

Matara's defence team is now expected to mount their case when proceedings resume on June 19, 2026. The accused remains in custody.