Senior Counsel John Khaminwa has told the High Court that the murder prosecution of Dr. David Muchiri Mwangi has reached a critical stage following the emergence of fresh evidence that could have a significant bearing on the case.
The development arose after counsel representing the Law Society of Kenya informed the court that the family of the deceased, Jared Ratemo Mokua, is in possession of new evidence that, if admitted, could assist the court in arriving at a just and logical determination.
Khaminwa argued that the only person capable of explaining the direction of the investigations and the prosecution’s position in light of the new evidence is the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). He urged the court to have the prosecution clarify how it intends to proceed.
Dr. Mwangi is charged with the murder of Jared Ratemo Mokua, who allegedly was killed at Fig Tree Medical Centre in Ngara, Starehe Sub-County, in 2017. He has denied the charge.
The deceased was a Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) lawyer who was abducted and strangled before his body was dumped off Mombasa Road, Nairobi. Mr Jared Ratemo Mokua, 35 and a father of three worked as a supervisor at Kenya Revenue Authority’s Customs and Border Control Department, Consolbase Container Freight Services, Mombasa.
His body was found dumped at the junction of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport/ Mombasa Road long after he went missing. He had been strangled and hit by a blunt object on the head.
According to investigations, his brother Harun said Mokua had traveled to Nairobi to solve a tax related matter when he met his death.
The case has remained before the High Court for nearly nine years, marked by repeated adjournments and delays, with the trial yet to reach its conclusion. The latest revelations have renewed questions about the pace of the proceedings and whether the newly surfaced evidence could alter the course of the long-running murder trial.
