Ivy Wangechi murder case: Suspect demanded money he allegedly spent on victim, court told

A man charged with killing of Moi University student Ivy Wangechi three years ago had demanded a refund of Sh200,000 that he allegedly had spent on her after she refused to give in to his love advances, an Eldoret court was told.

A witness, who requested the court to protect her identity, on Tuesday testified that Ivy had on several occasions rejected the suspect's love advances.

“Before the incident, Naftali Kinuthia (the suspect) had started demanding a refund of the money that he had spent on Ivy amounting to Sh200,000,” the witness told the court.

Kinuthia, a 31-year-old software graduate student, has been in remand at the Eldoret GK Prison since his arrest in 2019.

He is accused of hacking Ivy to death using an axe outside the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret on April 9, 2019.

Wangechi, a sixth-year medical student, had finished her ward rounds at MTRH when Kinuthia allegedly ambushed her. 

In her testimony, the witness told the court that at some point, Kinuthia had even threatened to go and meet Ivy’s mother to repay all the monies he had spent on her daughter.

She told the court that Ivy had on several occasions complained to her about Kinuthia's nagging character.

“Ivy told me on several occasions that she was being stressed by Kinuthia, who was bothering her to enter into a love relationship with him yet she was not interested,” the witness told High Court judge Stephen Githinji.

The witness disputed claims that Ivy and Kinuthia were lovers. She said Kinuthia was forcing Ivy into a love relationship by enticing her with expensive gifts.

The witness further said that Kinuthia used to sponsor their birthday parties with the aim of wooing Ivy.

“In 2018, I had a birthday party in a club in Westlands. I invited my three friends and Ivy was one of them. Kinuthia showed up at the event and footed the Sh14,000 bill to our surprise since no one requested him to do so,” she said.

The court heard that after the party Kinuthia asked Ivy to go with him to his house for the night but Ivy declined.

The witness further said that Ivy blocked Kinuthia on her phone. Kinuthia started sending text messages to the witness and asked her to forward them to Ivy.

In some text messages shown in court, Kinuthia expressed his frustrations at Ivy for turning down his request for a love relationship. 

Ten witnesses including Ivy’s mother and her university classmates have already testified in court.

The court has declined to release Kinuthia on bond three times on the basis that he is a flight risk among other reasons.

The judge adjourned the trial to December 15.