Three people have so far been charged with the murder of Lucy Njambi, the estranged wife of a former member of county assembly for Riruta ward in Nairobi County.
Njambi was allegedly kidnapped from her home in Thindigua estate along Kiambu Road on January 24 at around 8pm, raped, doused with acid, and left for dead in a coffee plantation near Kamiti corner along the Ruiru-Kiambu road.
She was rescued by a Good Samaritan who rushed her to Kiambu Level 5 Hospital, where she was given first aid, then transferred to Kenyatta National Hospital for specialised treatment. She died on January 26.
Samuel Ndung’u
He was Njambi’s estranged husband. Ndung’u had been married to Njambi since 2012 until late last year, when they separated.
The former MCA was last month charged with killing Njambi. He denied the charges.
Joyce Njambi
She is said to be Ndung’u’s girlfriend. She was last week charged with the murder of Njambi. She denied the charges.
Wilson Mwangi
He is said to be a close friend of Ndung’u’s. On Monday he was also charged with Njambi’s murder. He denied the charges.
Kiambu High Court judge Joel Ngugi on Tuesday released the three on a Sh1 million cash bail and two sureties in the same amount.
The court gave the three strict bail terms which included a warning to them against interfering with any of the remaining witnesses, either themselves or through proxies.
They were ordered to report to the deputy registrar of the court every Thursday.
The accused were restrained from visiting Ng’enda location in Gatundu South, where Njambi’s relatives live, without the written approval of the court.
Witnesses
So far, five people, whom the prosecution has termed as vulnerable witnesses, have testified in the murder case.
Samuel Mwangi
Mwangi, who was Ndung’u’s driver, testified on Monday that his boss had accused his estranged wife of infidelity and had vowed to ‘put the matter to an end”.
Mwangi told the judge that Ndung’u in December threatened to kill a 22-year-old man whom he said he suspected was having an affair with his wife.
The witness told the court that on January 24, the day Njambi was kidnapped, Ndung’u told him that he would not allow his wife to sleep around with uncircumcised men.
Lydia Nduta
When she took to the witness stand, Nduta told Justice Ngugi that her mother on December 18 called her and told her that a group of men, which she later learnt included the former MCA, visited their home in Gatundu South on several occasions looking for her son, Samuel Kiiru.
Ms Nduta, who operates a shop in Ruiru town, said her mother informed her that the former ward rep had accused her son (Nduta’s) of having an affair with his wife.
She told the court that her son denied the claims, but admitted that he was in communication with Njambi because she was a former classmate.
The court heard that Kiiru told his mother and uncle that the former MCA had sent him death threats in text messages.
The threats, the court heard, were reported at the Gatundu Police Station and police had summoned Ndung’u.
During the meeting, Ms Njambi denied having an affair with Kiiru and denied having ended her marriage with the former ward rep because of Kiiru.
Esther Nyambura
Nyambura, an aunt of Njambi’s, told the High Court on Tuesday that her niece identified her assailants before she died.
She said Njambi told her she had been raped and then attacked with acid.
She said Njambi told her at the Kiambu Level 5 Hospital that her former husband, Samuel Ndung’u, had attacked her.
She told the court that on January 24 at 10pm, the family received a call from a woman who told them to go to Kiambu Level 5 Hospital to see Njambi, who had been badly injured.
The aunt said she drove from Karembu village in Gatundu South in the company of Njambi’s grandmother, Margaret Gachambi, and arrived at midnight.
“On reaching the hospital I saw Njambi, who was badly injured and in a lot of pain. I asked her if she knew who I was and she replied that I was her aunt. I then asked her who had done that to her and she replied that it was Baba Njoroge (Ndung’u) and that I should ask him,” Nyambura said.
She testified that shortly afterwards, the doctors ordered the relatives out so that they could prepare Njambi for the transfer to Kenyatta National Hospital for specialised treatment.
“When we reached Kenyatta National Hospital, I asked her again who had done that to her and she replied that it was Ndung’u. The doctor asked her the same question and she repeated the answer,” she said.
Fidelis Muthoni
Muthoni, who is also an aunt of Njambi’s, told the court that her niece went to her home in Kawangware on November 27 last year, crying.
“I asked her what was wrong and she said she could not persevere any more living with her husband. She told me that Ndung’u was using abusive language against her, including telling her that she was sleeping with uncircumcised boys,” said Muthoni.
Muthoni told the court that Njambi told her she wanted to leave him.
On December 9, 2017, Muthoni added, she received a text message from Njambi that she said worried her.
“Njambi sent me a text message saying: ‘In case I die, take care of Emmanuel (her son) for me. Baba Njoro amenichapa sana kichwa na mbavu.’ When I later asked him why he had beaten my niece, Ndung’u said it was because he was angry,” she said.
A few days later, Njambi requested her aunt to ask Ndung’u why he had asked her (Njambi) to remove her underwear, ostensibly to check whether she had slept with uncircumcised boys. Muthoni informed the court that on January 23, the day before she was attacked, Njambi passed by her home to pick up some salon equipment she had left there.
“My niece told me she would not go back to her husband and that she had decided to start her own salon. She also said the dowry Ndung’u had paid to her family on November 25, 2017 be returned to him,” said the aunt.
Margaret Gachambi
Margaret Gachambi, Njambi’s grandmother, testified that her granddaughter was not happy and had an acrimonious marriage.
She said the family had had many meetings to try to reconcile the two and at one time she told Ndung’u to give her granddaughter time to think about their marriage.
Gachambi shouted at Ndung’u as he sat in the dock: “You Ndung’u… I give you to God. What you did to me will also be done to you...”
The judge told the family’s lawyer, Ndegwa Njiru, to calm her down.
The case will be mentioned on March 19.
