Stolen wire mesh and the 'unlawful bailing' of priest linked to heinous murder
The Kibera Law Courts in Nairobi.
What you need to know:
- A postmortem report indicated that George Njui died of internal bleeding.
- The deceased, who also suffered fractured arms, has since been buried at the Lang’ata Cemetery.
The family of a 42-year-old man who was allegedly killed by his employer is outraged by what they have termed as the 'unlawful' release of the main suspect.
According to the family, the suspect and his two sons were released on bail after a magistrate at the Kibera Law Courts reviewed prior orders by another magistrate.
The suspects, Michael Mbugua, a retired commissioner of police and a priest at Orthodox Church, and his sons Christopher Njau and Charles Kinyanjui Mwangi, had been arrested in connection to the murder of George Njui who died on December 23, 2023.
Police believe the deceased was tortured by the three inside Mr Mbugua’s home over claims of stealing a piece of wire mesh.
Mr Mbugua and his sons were arrested in Riruta on January 4, 2024 by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
Constable Dennis Were of Dagoretti DCI offices obtained orders from Senior Principal Magistrate Samson Temu of Kibera Law Courts to detain the suspects at Kabete Police Station for 14 days pending investigations into the murder. Mr Temu granted the orders on January 5, 2024.
However, the suspects’ lawyers filed an urgent application on January 8, 2024 seeking their release, pending the determination of a petition for a review of the earlier orders issued by Mr Temu.
Njui’s mother, Jane Wambui, and cousin, Joseph Karanja, want the judiciary to explain how a magistrate lifted prior court orders on the matter.
The magistrate issued varied orders on January 10, 2024 releasing the three suspects on a cash bail of Sh50,000 each and an alternative bond of Sh300,000 which the DCI termed as unlawful and defied, electing to stick with orders issued by Mr Temu.
Nairobi DCI commander Peter Nthiga told Nation.Africa that he ordered his officers to defy the fresh orders since they were unlawful as a magistrate cannot review peers’ orders.
“I instructed the DCIO (for Dagoretti) to defy the new orders and follow those issued earlier as only the High Court can vary orders of a lower court,” Mr Nthiga said.
Mr Karanja said the suspects were released on Wednesday. But Mr Nthiga denied claims, saying the office of Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) is dealing with the issue of the ‘unlawful orders.’
Mr Karanja also claimed there is interference with investigations into the murder, saying there is a “clear” indication of a plan to deny justice to the deceased after Mr Were was transferred from the Dagoretti DCI offices.
Mr Were was transferred immediately the orders for the release of the three suspects were received at the Kabete Police Station which also houses the Dagoretti DCI offices.
Njui’s family believes that Mr Were’s transfer is part of a scheme by powerful people to ensure the three suspects are not held accountable for the murder.
The family of the deceased has said the release of Mr Mbugua and his accomplices before placing the brother of the deceased, Jacob Ndung’u, under witness protection is endangering his life since the suspects know he is the star witness in the murder case that they are likely to be charged with.
Mr Temu granted the custodial orders after Mr Were filed an affidavit seeking more time to conduct investigations including taking the CCTV footage to the Cybercrime Unit at the DCI headquarters for analysis and escorting the suspects for mental assessment.
The suspects’ lawyer, in an application filed three days later, argued that the application should be heard as a matter of extreme urgency since the “applicants (suspects) enjoy a presumption of innocence and there exists no reason whatsoever for their further detention.”
The defence lawyer added that the matter had been under active investigation since December 23, 2023 before the suspects were arrested.
The application stated that the DCI had not pleaded nor adduced evidence demonstrating any compelling grounds warranting the continued detention (of the suspects) and that the investigators have had more than enough time to investigate.
“This court is invited to alleviate the applicants’/accused persons’ suffering by reviewing the custodial orders issued earlier on and releasing them on reasonable terms to ensure that they are not condemned to a perpetual pre-trial detention,” the application reads in part.
“The applicants are willing and determined to present themselves to court as and when directed to, so that their families do not starve and so that they may salvage their reputation which has since been jeopardized by the current murder accusations.”
The lawyer stated in the application that the three suspects are “upstanding Kenyans with deep familial ties with their community” adding that Mbugua serves as an integral unit of the leadership of the Orthodox Church.
The magistrate issued orders for the suspects to be released on a cash bail of Sh50,000 and an alternative bond of Sh300,000, and ordered them to appear at the Dagoretti DCI offices every day at 8am.
The magistrate set a mention date for January 17, 2023 to allow the office of the ODPP and DCI to respond to the new application that sired the temporary release of the suspects.
Njui was allegedly beaten to death by four men after being accused by Mbugua of stealing a piece of wire mesh at his home. Njui and his brother Ndung’u worked for Mbugua as casual labourers.
On the fateful day, Ndung'u went to check on Njui at Mbugua’s home where he found him unconscious and still being beaten by the assailants who were demanding that he tells them where his brother had sold the wire.
Ndung’u claims that he was detained by Mr Njau in his compound as his brother was escorted out before he collapsed and died along Naivasha Road.
The victim's elder brother, John Mwaura, visited Mbugua’s home and offered compensation while seeking to be allowed to take his brother to the hospital. But the suspect allegedly declined to release Ndung’u to be a witness during the payment.
“I heard he is a priest in the Orthodox church. I want to know the reason for his actions. He should have taken my son to the police,” Wambui said.
“We are now living in fear. It is scary to lose your child in such a manner and nothing is done to the killer. It very painful that I will never see Njui again. He did not die of illness. His life was cut short by someone.”
A postmortem report indicated that Njui died of internal bleeding. He also suffered fractured arms. The deceased has since been buried at the Lang’ata Cemetery.
The DCI is planning to place Ndung'u under witness protection before the three suspects are released on bond and bail after being charged.
