Mombasa man denies killing stranger he found in his bed with his wife

Elvis Otieno at Mombasa High Court where he denied stabbing Juma Ali Vunge after finding him in bed with his wife. [Joackim Bwana, Standard]

A driver in Mombasa has denied stabbing to death a man he found with his wife in their matrimonial bed in Kiembeni, Bamburi area.

Elvis Otieno said that he was enraged after he found Juma Ali Vunge in bed with his wife and decided to fight him.

“We fought because I found him with my wife in bed and I was enraged,” said Otieno.

Otieno told Justice Ann Ong’injo that Vunge ran outside with him in hot pursuit.

He caught up with Vunge outside the gate.

“I found my wife in bed with another man at around midnight, we fought and he ran outside through the kitchen door," Otieno said.

"I caught up with him and we fought for the second time. He was carrying a knife that he took from the kitchen."

During examination in chief by Senior State prosecutor Vivian Kambaga, Otieno contradicted himself about how Vunge ended up dead.

Stepped aside

He claimed that Vunge fell down during their second scuffle and hurt himself but upon further probe by Kambaga, he said he didn’t know how Vunge died.

“I never said that Vunge stabbed himself on the stomach, I said he tried to stab me and I stepped aside and he hurt himself,” said Otieno.

Otieno denied ever uttering the words "I dealt with him for having a relationship with my wife" that prosecution witness Ali Hassan said he heard from him that night.

He also denied recording a police statement that he found his wife and Vunge kissing.

“It is a lie. I never told the police that I found my wife kissing Vunge. I told him they were making love," Otieno insisted.

In a cross-examination by his lawyer George Kithi, Otieno said that when he left, Vunge was alive and he reported the matter to a police station in Kiembeni.

Otieno said that he used to see Vunge in the neighbourhood and had no dispute with him.

The prosecutor told the court that witnesses Dalphine Ndinda and Ahmid Ali Hassan arrived at the scene and found Vunge had already been stabbed.

However, Otieno said it was dark and he could not see what happened to him.

Otieno said that he surrendered to police contrary to Hassan's testimony that he was taken to the police station after the incident.