The High Court in Kiambu has convicted Simon Kamau Nduati of the brutal 2021 murder of his neighbour, Stephen Musyoka Maweu.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Francis Rayola Olel, the court held that the prosecution had proved the charge of murder beyond reasonable doubt, bringing to an end a trial that revealed a chilling and unprovoked attack. The court heard that on May 16, 2021, Maweu was tending to his farm in Magomano, Juja Sub-County, when Nduati launched a vicious assault, stabbing him multiple times in the back and chest.
The victim’s wife, Mercy Mawia, rushed to the scene after hearing her husband’s desperate cries for help and found the accused sitting on top of him as he continued the attack. Her screams attracted neighbours, who rushed to the scene and took the critically injured Maweu to Kenyatta University Referral Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
One of the prosecution’s most compelling pieces of evidence came from the widow, who testified that while the accused was in remand prison, he called and sent her text messages apologizing for the killing. In the messages, he confessed that he had been in love with her and admitted that his feelings had motivated the murder. Mercy told the court she had never been in a relationship with the accused and was shocked by the confession.
Investigators also told the court that the accused led police to a sisal plantation where he had concealed the knife used in the attack.
A post-mortem examination established that Maweu suffered four deep stab wounds, which caused catastrophic internal injuries, including a collapsed lung and severe damage to the diaphragm and spleen, resulting in fatal internal bleeding.
Although Nduati denied any involvement in the killing and claimed he had spent the day elsewhere, the court found the prosecution’s evidence, particularly the eyewitness testimony of the deceased’s wife, to be credible, consistent and overwhelming. The court also considered concerns raised over the accused’s mental state after some witnesses described him as disturbed following his arrest.
However, Justice Olel ruled that there was no evidence to show that Nduati was legally insane at the time of the offence. Instead, the judge found that the accused’s conduct before and after the killing including hiding the murder weapon and later expressing remorse through calls and text messages demonstrated that he understood the nature and consequences of his actions.
Justice Olel concluded that the repeated stabbing of the victim with a knife, targeting vital parts of the body, clearly established malice aforethought, an essential ingredient of the offence of murder.
