This archive report was first published on 26 September 2019.
On September 26, 2019, a Kiambu court granted police permission to detain a man for 14 days in connection with the murder of his wife in Juja Sub-county, Kiambu County.
Chief Magistrate Patricia Gichohi allowed the detention of Michael Mburu Mwaura at Juja police station, as requested by investigating officers.
Police Constable Cornelius Aruasa, who filed the application, stated that the accused was a flight risk and might interfere with investigations if released.
The court intends to conduct a postmortem to determine the cause of Catherine Nyambura's death and a mental assessment on the accused to facilitate a psychiatric examination prior to charging him with murder.
Investigating officers also plan to record statements from crucial witnesses, mostly neighbours, and compile a police file to be forwarded to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions for review and advice.
When given the opportunity to defend himself, Mwaura claimed that he accidentally killed his wife with no malicious intent.
The court heard that the couple's argument led to a fist fight, during which Mwaura allegedly used a hammer to hit his wife twice on the head, resulting in her instant death.
The case will be mentioned on October 4, 2019.
