Court overturns woman's guilty plea in murder of children

A woman accused of killing her two children allegedly because she was possessed by dark spirits will remain in remand after a court overturned her guilty plea.

Diana Nasimiyu Kibisi pleaded guilty to the murder charges yesterday before Justice Daniel Ogembo, but the judge overturned the admission after she explained what led her to commit the offence.

During the virtual court session, where she addressed the judge from the Dagoretti Police Station, Ms Kibisi said that though she killed the two boys, she could not recall what transpired before the killings, which happened on July 25 at the family’s home.

"We were cheerful and playing together on that day. I do not know what occurred, because I later found myself at the police station (after I killed them).  We used to be happy," she told the court after pleading guilty and sounding regretful.

Strangled children

She is accused of strangling the two children — Sydney Miheso, 4, Miracle Miheso, 2 — in Jerusalem village in Waithaka, Dagoretti, Nairobi County.

She left them lying on the sofa at home and went to the Waithaka Police Station to report. She told police that she used her bare hands to strangle the children to death and led the officers to her house to confirm the killings.

Shocked by her confession, the judge asked his court assistant to read the charges again as he asked Ms Kibisi's lawyer whether he was aware his client was to plead guilty.

Upon the charges being read to her the second time, Ms Kibisi pleaded guilty again and restated her explanation while her lawyer Gichuki Karuga told the court that “there is a problem”.

Justice Ogembo said the explanation amounted to a plea of not guilty and directed that she be remanded at the Lang'ata Women Prison pending the trial.

Application for bail

The judge also directed the lawyer to file an application for bail as he fixed the case for mention on September 21 before Justice Cecilia Githua, who will set a hearing date.

A mental evaluation report from Mathari Teaching and Referral Hospital indicated that the accused was fit to stand trial.

In her report to the police, Ms Kibisi blamed dark spirits, though other reports pointed to marital disputes.

Meanwhile, a university student accused of killing his 23-year-old lover studying at Kiriri Women’s University wants to be released on bail pending his trial.

Mr Innocent Makhoha Kawo, a student at Mount Kenya University, is accused of killing Christine Ambani on July 13, 2021 at Touchline Bar and Restaurant in Kasarani, Nairobi.

He was studying for a degree in special-needs education while Ms Ambani studied business administration.

She was found murdered in a hotel room, with her neck bearing deep stab wounds.

Investigators said that on the day she was killed, she had left the Mwihoko-based university in the morning to meet her boyfriend in Githurai, 15km away.

Mr Kawo, 23, then took Ms Ambani’s phone and logged into her family WhatsApp group. Posing as Ms Ambani, he sent a message asking family members to send her Sh87,000, claiming that she wanted to refund her boyfriend the money that he had spent to help her settle in the college.

The case will be mentioned on September 21 to confirm whether his lawyer has filed a bail application. Prosecutors told the court that they will oppose the application.

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