This archive report was first published on 9 July 2021.
The trial of Naftali Njami Kinuthia, accused of killing Moi University medical student Ivy Wangeci, has finally started after five failed attempts. The hearing began on July 8, 2021, at the Eldoret High Court, with five witnesses, including Ivy Wangeci's mother, Winfred Waithera, testifying before Judge Stephen Githinji.
Winfred Waithera, an emotional witness, recounted her daughter's character, describing her as a hard-working, focused, and self-driven girl who was in her sixth and last year of medical school. She disputed claims that Kinuthia was her daughter's boyfriend, stating that she only knew him as a pupil who schooled in Joyland Academy with her daughter before she transferred to another school.
Wangeci's classmate, Dr Andrew Koinange, testified that he was walking with Ivy on the day she was murdered and saw the accused attack her with an axe. Another witness, Jackson Ng'etich, an Eldoret-based farmer, told the court that he was walking to Eldoret town when he heard a scuffle and saw a slim man attacking a woman clad in a white dust coat.
Dr Benson Macharia, a pathologist at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, said that the autopsy conducted on the deceased on April 10, 2019, showed that she suffered deep cuts on the left side of her head and neck, leading to hypovolemic shock due to excessive bleeding.
The hearing was adjourned to July 22, when more witnesses will testify.
