Teacher recounts last moments of lawyer killed at house party

Murder suspect Abel Mogaka at the Eldoret Magistrate Court in May 2019. [Peter Ochieng, Standard]

A teacher moved Eldoret Law Courts when he recounted the last moments with a lawyer who was later stabbed to death by a colleague during a house party.

Kelvin Odhiambo, who testified before Justice Reuben Nyakundi said the party had been organised by an advocate who invited about 15 friends, including the late lawyer Calvin Ngaira and Abel Mogaka, now a murder suspect.

The late Ngaira who had practiced for barely three months after his admission to the bar, met his death on May 18, 2019.

The court heard that the deceased and the accused engaged in a confrontation at the party in Annex area along the Eldoret-Nakuru highway, in Uasin Gishu county.

Mogaka was accused of allegedly stabbing Ngaira in the neck using a broken glass bottle. The lawyer succumbed to injuries days later while receiving treatment at Mediheal Hospital in Eldoret.

“We were having a good time at the party. We had meals and alcohol while some of us who were football fans, watched matches before the duo got into a fight,” said Odhiambo.

He recounted that it was about 5.30 pm when the late Ngaira and a female friend left the house followed by Mogaka who was holding a glass of beer in his hand.

“Moments later, I heard the lady scream and I immediately rushed to check what the problem was, only to find the deceased lying down with blood oozing from his neck,” he said.

He said Mogaka was standing a few meters away outside the compound of the house and he saw pieces of broken glass and a broken beer bottle on the ground.

Odhiambo told the court that all the individuals at the party were arrested at their respective houses by police over Ngaira's murder and taken to Kiambaa Police Station.

“The police rounded all of us who were at the house party as persons of interest in connection with the brutal killing of an Eldoret-based lawyer and detained us in cells for one night before we were released after recording statements,” he said.

Vivian Wanjiku said she heard a commotion outside followed by the sound of glass breaking. She said that she rushed outside and found the duo engaging in a fistfight.

“One of our friends called Roy, who had hosted us at his house, was trying to separate the two. Ngaira was bleeding on the left side of his neck and I went back to the house to get a towel to help control the bleeding. When I came back, I found him lying down and Abel, the accused, had already fled the scene,” recounted Wanjiku.

She said Ngaira was rushed to hospital while she alongside two others recorded a statement at the Kiambaa Police Station.

Mogaka denied the murder charges when he was arraigned in court four years ago. He is out on a Sh1 million bond.

The hearing continues Friday.