Suspect admits taking part in Kiru School principal's murder
Jane Muthoni, who has been charged with the murder of her husband, Solomon Mwangi, chats with lawyer Cliff Ombeta on December 20, 2016. A suspect in the case on February 1, 2017 stunned a Kiambu court when he admitted that he took part in the killing after being promised Sh400,000 by Ms Muthoni. PHOTO | ERIC WAINAINA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
Joseph Njuguna, alias Karis, gave a blow-by-blow account of Mr Mwangi’s murder.
The 10-page confession was read out in court by State Counsel Catherine Mwaniki.
On Tuesday Njuguna pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter in a Kiambu court.
Jane Muthoni and Isaac Ng’an’ga were his co-accused in the murder charge.
A suspect in the murder of Kiru High School Principal Solomon Mwangi, whose body was found in a thicket in Kiambu in 2016, stunned a court after he admitted taking part in the murder after being promised Sh400,000 by Mr Mwangi’s wife.
In a shocking confession that has also placed the principal's wife, Jane Muthoni, at the murder scene, Joseph Njuguna, alias Karis, gave a blow-by-blow account of Mr Mwangi’s murder.
The 10-page confession was read out in court by State Counsel Catherine Mwaniki on Tuesday when Njuguna pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter before Kiambu High Court Judge Joel Ngugi, in a plea agreement that saw his charges reduced from murder.
Ms Muthoni and Isaac Ng’an’ga were his co-accused in the murder charge.
“In June last year, I received a call from a lady identified as Damaris whom I have known for a long time informing me of a well-paying job,” said Njuguna.
Damaris told him that someone named Njiru would call him later with details about the job.
Njiru called a day later and asked to meet him at Tree Shade Hotel in Kimbo, Kahawa, where Njuguna found him in the company of Damaris.
They disclosed to him that the headteacher’s wife – introduced to him only as Mwalimu (teacher) – was the person behind the execution plot, and that she had made a Sh100,000 down payment.
POISONING HUSBAND
On November 4, Njuguna and another man known only as Gikuyu met at Texas Bar in Kiria-ini where they were joined by Njiru and Mwalimu, who informed them she had a new plan of poisoning her husband, he said.
On November 5, Mwalimu called them with instructions that they meet at Urithi, near Ndarugo.
Mwalimu drove in with her unconscious husband, the court heard.
Njuguna and Gikuyu boarded the car, which they drove to a forest, where Gikuyu put a sisal rope around Mr Mwangi’s neck and removed him from the car.
He says they left Mwalimu behind as they took their victim deep into the woods, where they tied up his hands, tightened the rope on his neck and hanged him on a tree.
He was later found dead.
When they returned to where they had left the car, they found Mwalimu missing, he said.
Efforts to trace her so that she could pay the balance of Sh300,000 were unsuccessful because the phone she was using when the murder-for-hire deal was being negotiated had been switched off, he said.
