Kiambu woman suspected to have murdered husband to be held longer
Gladys Chania (right), the prime suspect in the murder of George Mwangi before a Kiambu court. In a T-shirt is her co-accused Maurice Mbugua.
Kiambu politician Gladys Chania has been detained for seven days to allow for the conclusion of investigations into the murder of her husband.
Ms Chania and Mr Maurice Mbugua have been in custody since last Friday after police linked them to the killing of George Mwangi, 58, who had been reported missing. His body, which was wrapped in a polythene bag, was found in Kieni forest, Gatundu North, last Wednesday.
Mother-in-law
Police have said that Ms Chania is the prime suspect in the murder, together with Mr Mbugua, a farmhand she had hired on the day Mr Mwangi went missing.
Mr John Mwangi, who had been hired by Ms Chania’s husband and had worked for him for more than five years, is also missing.
The day after Mr Mwangi went missing, Ms Chania was on Kameme television speaking about women, politics and leadership. She later celebrated hitting 16,000 followers on her Facebook page.
Ms Chania is said to have called her mother-in-law, Priscilla Wanjiru, to inform her that her son was missing and later to tell her that his body had been found.
Yesterday, Ms Chania and Mr Mbugua were brought to Kiambu Law Courts around 9am. Before the proceedings started, Ms Chania smiled as journalists scrambled to take her photos outside the courtroom, jokingly suggesting to them to use her best shot.
Mr Mbugua, who wore a striped T-shirt, appeared ill at ease, fumbling with his hands.
Police say Gladys Chania is a prime suspect in the murer of her husband George Mwangi.
Inside the courtroom, Ms Chania sat before Kiambu Senior Resident Magistrate Wilson Rading.
Lawyer Wandungi Karathe, who led her defence team, asked the court not to detain them further but to release them on reasonable bail terms. He said they’d cooperated with police and had been brought to court without any holding charge sheet.
The prosecution, led by Onunga Evelyne, a senior principal prosecution counsel from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, asked the court to detain the two for 14 days. She said the matter is complex and that the investigators need more time. She explained that the mobile phone and clothes of the missing farmhand had been found in the home of his employer.
“That’s why we are seeking 14 days [to] conclude investigations instead of coming back to seek more days,” Ms Onunga said.
The prosecution said it wanted more time to subject Ms Chania and Mr Mbugua to a medical examination, but the defence objected, saying, there is no charge sheet to warrant the action.
“This application lacks merit. All the issues raised have been dealt with before. The suspects have been brought to court with no charge sheet. I ask the court to release them on reasonable bail or bond terms,’’ Mr Wandungi said, adding, the court has no jurisdiction to hear the matter
“Given now we understand the gist of the application, the suspects will be detained for seven days and return on October 24 for further directions,” Mr Rading ruled.
The investigators speculated that Mr Mwangi’s killers may have followed him and his mistress, Lucy Muthoni, from his home in Mang’u (Gatundu North) to Kimunyu (Gatundu South) and back on the Saturday before he went missing.
Mr Mwangi, an engineer and contractor, owns Double M International in Kigali, Rwanda,
Doused in acid
He linked up with his long-time friend, John Waiganjo before Ms Muthoni joined them at around 3pm. They then went to Wamuguthuko village in Kimunyu to celebrate the 90th birthday of a local elder, Mr Samuel Mwangi.
After the celebrations, the trio went to Kimunyu shopping centre around 6pm. Mr Mwangi took a bottle of beer before he and Ms Muthoni bid farewell to Mr Waiganjo around 8pm and set off for Mang’u in Mr Mwangi’s vehicle.
He dropped off Ms Muthoni who lives in one of his rental properties around 9.30pm and then went home. His body was found on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Ms Chania told the Nation in a phone interview that her husband had walked down the stairs in their matrimonial home on October 10 and had not returned.
Police said they had found blood-soaked bed sheets as well as curtains and clothes hidden in a locked room next to the master bedroom.
They said Mr Mwangi had been hit on the head with a blunt object and his face doused in acid.
