A shylock, dead woman and murder suspect
Had it not been for the gruesome murder of Mtwapa based businesswoman Jacqueline Ngina Kitheka, Mr Hamisi Mohamed could perhaps still be operating his shylock business.
Mr Mohamed, a witness in the murder of Ms Kitheka, testified before Mombasa High Court Judge Ann Ong’injo that abandoned the shylock business after the incident.
“I used to be a shylock, but I no longer engage in that business, I ventured into something else,” he told the judge on Wednesday.
Mr Mohamed testified in the case last year but was recalled for cross-examination by the advocate representing Robert Waliaula Kinisu, the main suspect in the murder of the woman.
The court was told that the suspect allegedly murdered the woman and concealed her body in a wardrobe at her residence in Mtwapa, Kilifi County, before taking off with her valuables including mobile phones.
At the time of her murder, she was in the process of tying the knot with her British fiancé.
The court has been told that the suspect attacked the woman at her residence in the Marina area. Her body was discovered in her apartment three days after she was killed.
The state alleges that the suspect committed the murder between May 3 and 6, 2022.
Mr Kinisu has however denied committing the offence.
Yesterday, Mr Mohamed finalized his testimony by affirming that it was Mr Kinisu who sold to him items that were stolen from the deceased’s house.
“When the items were brought to my shop, I inspected and recorded each of them before paying Mr Kinisu Sh1,550 via M-Pesa,” he said.
The items included a blender, iron box, juice mixer, and a toaster. These properties have been confirmed to have been stolen from the deceased’s house after she was murdered.
“I did not know that these items were related to a murder incident that the police were investigating at the time, I learnt about it while at the police station,” he said.
Mr Mohamed said his business remained closed for the many weeks he was in custody while assisting the police with investigating the murder of the woman.
But he said he was grateful that he had not sold the items by the time the police knocked on his doors.
The witness had testified that Mr Kinisu visited his business premise located in Mtwapa at around 8:30pm and asked for money to help take his wife to the hospital.
From his testimony, Mr Kinisu used a different name to conceal his real identity. His name had appeared as Mr Brown Kipande when the cash was sent to his phone.
The suspect then disappeared but resurfaced several days later with more electronics and he was paid Sh2,020.
While delivering these items, Mr Mohamed said the suspect had explained to him that more money was required at the hospital as his wife was admitted in hospital.
Mr Mohamed would be arrested three weeks later before being questioned about the M-Pesa transaction.
Court records indicate that Mohamed stayed at the Mtwapa police cells for at least two days before being joined by Mr Kinisu.
“On the second day, Kinisu was arrested and brought to the station. It was then that I discovered his real name is Kinisu and not Kipande as I had known him,” he told the court.
Mr Mohamed said he was released after recording a statement with the police explaining how he came into possession of the items.
A receptionist at Maya Lodge Guest, where Mr Kinisu booked a room and left his bag, is one of the witnesses who have testified in the case.
Ms Ruth Wairiru had positively identified Mr Kinisu as the man who visited their facility and left a bag whose content was later discovered to have contained the property of the deceased woman.
Mr Kinisu has been in prison before due to accusations of robbery with violence.
He was in 2018 sentenced to death for violently robbing and killing Mombasa-based model Janet Adhiambo Asuna at her Kizingo residence.
However, he was acquitted by the High Court in 2019 on appeal after serving one-year imprisonment.
The evidence tabled in that case confirmed he had withdrawn Sh26, 600 from the deceased’s M-pesa account in three outlets days after she was murdered.
He was charged that on June 7, 2016, he robbed Ms Asuna a cellphone, sandwich toaster, an iron box, and a mobile charger valued at Sh19,500 and during the time of robbery used personal violence and killed her.
The court had been told that Kinisu allegedly used a wooden stool to batter the woman to death during the robbery.
The hearing will continue on May 15 and 16. BY DAILY NATION
Post a Comment