High Court acquits two in the murder case of Nakumatt auditor

The High Court has acquitted two people who had been charged with the murder of a Nakumatt auditor. 

James Maina Karanja, a senior auditor at Nakumatt Holdings Limited, was shot and killed in 2015. 

Philip Manyura Maroko, a former senior accountant with Nakumatt and Dennison Mose Maroko were charged with his murder. 

The duo was set free by Justice James Wakiaga. The judge ruled that prosecution failed to prove the case against the suspects.

In his ruling, the judge said he agreed with the submissions of the defence hat the circumstantial evidence tendered by the prosecution against Phillip Manyura Maroko did not meet the legal threshold and that it was not proved that there was any motive by the accused to kill the deceased.

In their case, the prosecution, led by senior assistant director of public prosecutions Charles Okeyo, had alleged that Phillip Manyura Maroko who was also an accountant at Nakumatt had along with other staff paid the first accused Ezekiel Momanyi Onsongo, a policeman based in Lavington, Nairobi to kill the deceased.

But the judge found no evidence that the accused paid Onsongo to kill the deceased.

Lawyer John Ogada had in his submissions said that his client was under no financial investigation by the deceased at Nakumatt as was suggested by the prosecution. There was therefore no motive proved against him.

The court also found that Dennison Mose Maroko, who is a motorcycle rider was not guilty as he had only been hired by the first accused Onsongo, to take him to Mombasa Road where the deceased was shot.

Onsongo was convicted and sentenced to seven years imprisonment.

He was however released immediately since he had already served the seven years while in remand.

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