Judge directs police to provide security to children of murder suspect
The Maua Law Courts in Meru.
A Meru court has directed police to investigate claims that the family of an ex-convict accused of killing his two stepbrothers in Kiriathi village, Igembe South, was being threatened.
Justice Thripsisa Cherere said that as Mr Stanley Ntarangwi battles double homicide charges, his family should not suffer because of his alleged crimes.
She directed police in Maua to investigate the suspect’s allegations that his children had been driven out of their home and exposed to danger.
“He is innocent until proven guilty and his family has nothing to do with these cases, so they need protection. He is saying that his children have been chased away from his home. He has a right to have his children guarded. Please go to the ground and find out what is happening,” the judge directed.
Mr Ntarangwi is accused of killing Mr Charles Kathongi and Mr Joseph Mukaria in cold blood in Kithiari village, Meru County, on December 30, 2021 and January 25, 2022, respectively. Prosecutors indicated they would charge him with premeditated murder.
He allegedly hacked to death Mr Mukaria, 54, and Mr Kathongi, 43, with a panga, claiming they had allocated him a smaller portion of their ancestral land.
He is reported to have attacked Mr Kathongi after accusing him of harvesting his mature trees while he was serving a 14-year jail term for slashing the hand of another resident.
Angry residents set fire to Mr Ntarangwi's house but he fled before they could get to him.
As family and friends planned the burial of Mr Kathongi, the assailant allegedly waylaid Mr Mukaria on a secluded tea farm and slashed him to death.
However, Mr Ntarangwi did not plead to the charges as he had not undergone a mental assessment and prosecutors were still piecing together evidence and requested more time.
After the charges were read, he appealed to the court to guarantee safety for his children, who he said had fled home due to tension caused by the deaths of the two brothers.
Justice Cherere ordered Police Constable Anthony Kariuki, who is investigating the matter, to visit Mr Ntarangwi’s home and establish what is going on.
The matter will be mentioned on May 16 for plea taking.
