Court releases on bond woman at centre of Obwaka death probe

Beatrice Wangari before Kibera Law Courts in Nairobi, on May 4, 2026. [Nancy Gitonga, Standard] 

Beatrice Wangari, the woman at the centre of investigations into the death of Dr Job Obwaka, has been freed on a Sh100,000 personal bond after the High Court ruled that her continued detention was not justified.

Justice Diana Kavedza set aside an order by a lower court that had allowed police to detain Wangari for 10 days pending investigations.

Wangari had moved to the High Court seeking to overturn the detention order, arguing that it violated her constitutional right to liberty. 

She argued that she had fully cooperated with investigators, including recording a statement and granting access to her residence and vehicle.

The prosecution did not oppose her application, and the court agreed with her. Justice Kavedza found that the prosecution had failed to demonstrate sufficient grounds to warrant her continued detention.

The court noted that the postmortem on the late Nairobi Hospital chairman, conducted in the presence of the Chief Government Pathologist and other experts, had found that the doctor died from natural causes.

Wangari will be required to report to the investigating officer daily until the probe is concluded. [Nancy Gitonga]

Dr Obwaka, aged 79, drove himself from Nairobi to his lover's house to Kitengela on May 1, where he died after a meal.

“The post-mortem examination… concluded that the deceased died from cardiac arrest arising from pre-existing cardiac conditions,” the court stated.

The judge said this finding significantly weakened the justification for holding Wangari in custody.

“The post-mortem findings substantially weakened the basis upon which continued detention was sought, and no material was placed before this court demonstrating that the applicant had failed to cooperate with investigators or posed a flight risk,” She stated.read.

The judge noted that continued detention without charge must be based on compelling reasons and should be the least restrictive option available.

Ultimately, the judge ruled that continued detention in this case was disproportionate.

She set aside the 10-day custodial orders granted to DCi officers and ordered her immediate release from Kilimani Police station.

As part of her release conditions, Wangari will be required to report to the investigating officer daily until the probe is concluded.

According to a detailed affidavit filed by Sergeant Rhoda Nzioka of the DCI Headquarters Homicide Investigations Department, Dr Obwaka, aged 79, drove himself from Nairobi to Kitengela on the afternoon of May 1, 2026, to visit Wangari at her Milimani area residence in Kajiado County.

Court documents indicate that at approximately 1:05 pm, the deceased parked his black Mercedes Benz, registration number KCM 222X, at the basement of OBC Mall in Kitengela. Wangari then arrived driving her Volkswagen Tiguan, registration number KCQ 902T, collected him from the mall, and they proceeded to her residence at Olive Court in Milimani.

The DCI affidavit presents a detailed sequence of events leading to the doctor’s final moments.

Once inside the house, the court was told that “the respondent (Wangari) prepared a meal which the deceased (Dr Obwaka) took, after which he requested to rest in the master bedroom before being joined by the respondent, and they became intimate.”

It was shortly after this sequence of events that Dr Obwaka’s condition allegedly collapsed without warning.