Naftali Kinuthia to be Sentenced for Ivy Wangechi’s Murder on November 22

A High Court in Eldoret has found the prime suspect in Moi University student’s murder guilty.

Naftali Kinuthia was on Thursday found guilty of the April 2019 most gruesome murder.

He is set to be sentenced on November 22.

Justice Reuben Githinji ruled that the prosecution had proved the offense of murder and the accused stands convicted.

The judge trashed Kinuthia’s defense in which he claimed he was provoked after Ivy ended their relationship and went for another man.

The judge noted that although Kinuthia had claimed that they had an intimate relationship there was no evidence of the same.

“Even text messages reviewed did not prove evidence of an intimate relationship and the the accused did not also prove a sexual relationship with the deceased,” said Githinji.

He said the accused used a lethal weapon- an axe- to hit the deceased several times leaving her with no chance of survival.

Read: Naftali Kinuthia Demanded Sh200,000 Allegedly Spent on Late Ivy – Witness

“If he did not want to kill her he would have used bare feasts on her and not the axe.”

The judge said claims of provocation by Kinuthia were not true.

Githinji noted that although the accused had claimed that the axe he used had been in his car for security reasons that was not the case.

He noted that the axe appeared new and sharpened which proved aforethought malice on the side of the accused in ending Ivy’s life.

The judge noted that the axe had a metal handle, was new and sharpened using a grinder.

“I saw the axe in court and is kind used in rural areas to split firewood and trees. It’s not like the one reasonable people carry for security”, said Githinji.

The judge also noted that the accused also had a knife with him which he claimed to have been given by someone at the scene of the crime.

“It’s laughable when the accused alleges the knife was handed to him by a member of the public. Who would have wanted to lose his life for no purpose. His allegation is not true,” said the judge.

Read Also: Murder Suspect Naftali Kinuthia Wants Judge to Recuse Self Over Bias

Earlier he read out the background of the case and evidence from witnesses including Ivy’s friends.

One of the witnesses was a close friend of Ivy who narrated how the relationship between the two had gone sour.

She had informed Ivy that there relationship was getting worse but but the deceased at some point downplayed the warning.

The witnesses told the court that some of the messages sent to Ivy amounted to threats.

Kinuthia had also told the court that he spent more than Sh200,000 on Ivy but was bitter that she always ignored her.

Kinuthia aged 33 years had in his defense confessed to killing the medical student because of the love relationship gone sour.

Kinuthia followed the proceedings virtually from the Eldoret GK prison as the judge delivered it from Malindi where he is currently stationed.

The family of the deceased and prosecution have demanded maximum sentence for murder against Kinuthia.