Matara: I did not kill Wahu, she attacked me over Sh50,000 dispute

Music artist John Matara confers with his lawyer, James Mochere, at the Milimani High Court on October 8, 2026, during his murder trial. [David Gichuru, Standard]

John Matara has, for the first time, told the High Court how a Sh50,000 payment dispute allegedly turned deadly, leaving pastor Kanyari's sister, socialite Starlet Wahu, dead.

Testifying in his defence before Milimani High Court Judge Alexander Muteti yesterday, Matara gave a blow-by-blow account of the events leading to the death of Wahu inside Room Y32 at Papino Apartments in South B, Nairobi.

Matara, who is accused of murdering the 24-year-old socialite on January 3, 2024, denied killing her and claimed instead that Wahu attacked him with a knife after demanding Sh50,000 payment for a sexual encounter.

He told the court that he suffered multiple stab wounds during the confrontation and was forced to flee the apartment while bleeding before seeking medical treatment at a hospital in South B.

His account is the first detailed version he has given in court of what he says happened inside the apartment on the night Wahu died.

Matara said he first met Wahu after coming across her advertisement on an online prostitution website in July or August 2023.

“Is a website where prostitutes or sex workers advertise themselves online to solicit clients, so I stumbled on her advert on the website that is around July and August 2023; I can't remember the exact date,” he said.

He said he contacted her through a telephone number provided in the advertisement and they continued communicating through WhatsApp.

“I contacted her through WhatsApp and she sent me her nude photos as it is the norm with online prostitution,” Matara testified.

According to Matara, Wahu told him she charged Sh35,000 for a sexual encounter.

He, however, sought to meet her and their first meeting took place at Sankara Hotel in Westlands, where they spent the night drinking and being intimate.

“We had fun... and we parted ways the following day after I paid her the agreed Sh35,000," Matara told the judge.

The two allegedly met again at Sankara Hotel in December 2023.

This time, Matara said, he paid Sh20,000 and promised to clear the outstanding Sh15,000 during their next meeting.

“We were getting along very well and we were growing fond of each other,” he told the court.

On January 1, 2024, Matara said he contacted Wahu and they agreed to meet two days later.

On January 3, he said, he was at a music studio in Imara Daima where he had been recording music and celebrating the New Year with fellow artistes.

At about 11 am, he contacted Wahu to confirm their plans.

He said Wahu told him she would be around South B later that evening and suggested that they meet there.

According to Matara, she also reminded him about the Sh15,000 outstanding balance and insisted that he book accommodation with a balcony.

He said that at about 5 pm he left the studio and travelled towards Nairobi CBD with a fellow artiste.

While on the way, he searched Jiji.co.ke for accommodation and found an Airbnb in South B operated by a woman who introduced herself as Jane.

Matara said Jane, who runs and operates an Airbnb apartment in South B, sent him photographs of the available apartments, but he insisted on one with a balcony.

“She then sent me photos of one Airbnb that had the balcony and I liked it and she then told me she charges 3,200 per night,” he said.

He said Jane sent him directions and he later travelled to Papino Apartments after briefly meeting another friend at the Hilton Hotel for a business deal.

On arrival, Matara said he attempted to have his details recorded by security but found the security office unattended.

He proceeded to the fourth floor, where he found two women cleaners leaving Room Y32.

“I introduced myself and told them I was the client who had booked Airbnb,” he said.

He said the women showed him around the apartment, including the bedroom, bathroom, balcony and living room.

After confirming that he liked the house, Matara said the woman left and he waited for Wahu.

At about 8 pm, he said Wahu called and told him she had arrived at the parking area in a red Uber.

Matara said he went downstairs, found her in the vehicle and paid Sh300 for the ride.

He described her as wearing a miniskirt and high heels and looking very beautiful.

The two then bought a 700ml bottle of Hunter’s Choice whisky from a nearby liquor outlet before returning to the apartment.

Matara said they went upstairs, locked the door and began drinking and being intimate.

“We hugged, kissed, she told me she had missed me, I told her I had missed her more,” he said.

He told the court that Wahu made WhatsApp video calls to her friends while they were naked and later asked him to place his phone on the edge of the sofa so that their sexual encounter could be recorded.

The court previously heard from the prosecution witnesses that a used HIV testing kit, syringes, condoms, a blood-stained towel and the empty whisky bottle were among the items recovered from the apartment.

Matara said after a few glasses of the whiskey, which they took dry, they conducted an HIV test before getting intimate, which both turned negative.

He claimed Wahu wanted them to have unprotected sex after the test, but he insisted on using condoms that he had carried with him.

According to his testimony, the mood changed after their first sexual encounter.

He said Wahu suddenly announced that she wanted to leave.

“She insisted that I get to pay her the full amount, which was the 15,000 balance of the previous hook-up and that day's hook-up of Sh35,000, bringing to a total of 50,000,” he said.

Matara claimed Wahu became hysterical and started abusing him.

“She kept insisting that I have to pay her money at that very moment and she even became more hysterical and was hurling abuses, saying ‘you poor dog, you rotten c***, you mother f***er, you have to pay and no one will get out of this room alive if I don't get to pay her fully’,” he testified.

He said he sent her Sh20,000 through M-Pesa and promised to pay the remaining Sh30,000 the following morning before they parted ways.

Matara told the court that he expected to receive Sh100,000 from a website development project he had done for a client, in which he had worked as a co-developer.

However, furious, Wahu insisted on leaving and being paid the balance of Sh30,000.

Frustrated, Matara said he then called his sister, known as Deborah, seeking a Sh30,000 soft loan.

“She declined the request, and she even hung up on me,” he said.

Matara said he continued pleading with Wahu and assured her that he would pay before noon the following day.

He claimed that Wahu eventually calmed down and the two resumed drinking.

It was shortly afterwards that he said the confrontation turned violent.

Matara told the court that he went to the bathroom to urinate and, upon returning, found Wahu standing between the bed and wardrobe.

“I approached her with an intent to hug her again. She gave me a gentle push on the bed, fell on the bed and closed my eyes, thinking we were to have our next round of sex but suddenly I felt multiple sharp pains on my thighs,” he said.

He claimed Wahu then repeatedly stabbed him.

“I then landed on the floor and was hit on my head and before I could appreciate what was happening, Wahu was bending above me, and she was stabbing me multiple times,” he said.

Matara said he initially did not know what weapon Wahu was holding.

“It is at that moment I realised that she was holding a knife,” he testified.

He claimed he tried to grab the knife during the struggle, resulting in cuts to his palm.

“One or two times in the struggle I tried to grab the knife by the blade and she pulled through my palm and cut my palm several times,” he said.

Matara said he eventually slipped through Wahu's legs and ran into the living room.

He claimed Wahu followed him and chased him around a table several times before stopping.

“We stood on opposite sides of the table and were still hurling insults and shouting over her voice that I will not leave the room alive if I did not pay her the full amount”, he said.

He claimed he tried to scream for help but the loud music prevented anyone from responding.

Asked by his lawyer whether he at any time held the knife which the prosecution says is the murder weapon and was found hidden behind the sofa.

Matara responded, stating that: “I never at any moment that night handled that knife. I was defenceless and she had overpowered me."

The account is, however, sharply at odds with the prosecution's case.

The prosecution previously called 18 witnesses before closing its case, after which Justice Muteti ruled that Matara had a case to answer and placed him on his defence.

The judge said the evidence placed Matara and Wahu in the room where her body was discovered shortly after he allegedly left.

The court heard that Wahu's body was found inside the locked apartment with blood spread across the room and a deep stab wound to her right thigh.

A postmortem conducted by retired government pathologist Dr Peter Ndegwa found ten fingernail marks on Wahu's neck, bruises on her face, a stab wound to her right thigh and internal bleeding on the right side of her head.

Dr Ndegwa testified that the stab wound had caused severe haemorrhage and concluded that excessive blood loss, together with strangulation-related trauma, caused her death.

The prosecution has also presented forensic evidence from the scene, including a knife, condoms, HIV-testing materials, syringes and a blood-stained white towel.

A government analyst told the court that DNA evidence linked blood recovered from the apartment to both Wahu and Matara, while semen recovered from a used condom matched Matara's DNA profile.

CCTV evidence was also presented showing a person leaving the apartment after the incident.

Investigators told the court that the Airbnb had been booked in Matara's name.

The prosecution further called witnesses who testified that Matara was seen leaving the apartment with blood on his clothing and a white towel around his neck.

He was later taken to hospital with injuries to his arms and legs.

Corporal Horace Arwa, the arresting officer, previously told the court that he questioned Matara while he was receiving treatment.

According to Arwa, Matara allegedly told him that he had been involved in a scuffle with Wahu and had stabbed her on the thigh.

Matara's defence now offers a different explanation: that he was the victim of an attack and that Wahu's fatal injury occurred during a struggle.

The prosecution maintains that it established a prima facie case sufficient to require Matara to explain himself.

Justice Muteti ruled in May that the evidence presented by the prosecution could support a conviction if left unexplained by the defence.

Matara has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.

His testimony is expected to be central to the final determination of whether the prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that he unlawfully caused Wahu's death, or whether, as he claims, the fatal confrontation was the result of a struggle in which he too was seriously injured.

The defence hearing is continuing