I did not kill wife by stabbing her 17 times, Juja man tells court

Evans Kamau, the 37-year-old man accused of killing his estranged wife by stabbing her 17 times, has pleaded not guilty to murder.

Kamau was arraigned virtually before Kiambu Law Courts judge Lilian Mutendea.

The suspect is accused of breaking into Esther Nyaga’s Elmark Estate home in Juja, and disconnecting the power supply before stabbing her 17 times on August 8.

Kamau, whose pre-bail hearing is scheduled for September 8, will be remanded at the Juja Police Station.

The prosecution sought three days to counter Kamau’s bail application, saying Nyaga’s three children would not be safe once the suspect is released on bail.

Kamau was arrested on August 10 after allegedly killing Nyaga, 34, on Sunday, August 8.

The mother of three was living with her children at Elmark Estate in Juja.

Kamau and Nyaga, who exchanged vows in a colourful church wedding in 2010, separated in 2019 following unending domestic fights. The two were blessed with three children (a daughter aged 11 and sons aged 7 and 2).

The couple’s divorce case was yet to be finalised.

Nyaga’s neighbour, Purity Gathoni, told The Standard that the couple’s eldest child on August 8 knocked on their gate and requested if she (Gathoni) could help take her (child’s) mother to hospital.

Gathoni said she enquired what had happened, and the girl revealed that her father had [allegedly] stabbed their mother.

“We found her (Nyaga) in her bedroom lying in a pool of blood,” said Gathoni.

“While being taken to hospital, Esther [Nyaga] said, albeit in pain, that her estranged spouse, Evans Kamau, had stabbed her multiple times.”

Nyaga, however, died before she could get to Thika Level 5 Hospital.

The deceased worked as a nurse at the Muruka Dispensary in Kandara, Murang'a County while her estranged spouse is a former employee of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).

Juja Directorate of Criminal Investigations Officer (DCIO) Richard Mwaura told The Standard Kamau was first arraigned on August 10, and the courts allowed police a couple of days to detain him as investigations continued.

Mwaura said a postmortem conducted on Nyaga’s body indicated she died of excessive bleeding.

Nyaga’s mother, Magdalene Muthoni, said she hopes justice for her daughter would be served.

“I’m urging police to expedite investigations and bring my daughter’s killer(s) to book,” she said.

Nyaga’s three children have since been taken in by Muthoni.