15 years later MP Muchai's murder suspects put on defense

BY ERIC ABUGA

The High Court in Nairobi rulled that four accused persons in the murder  of Kabete MP George Muchai have a case to answer.

This follows a successful defense put up by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the long-running case of the brutal murder of the MP in 2015.

In a ruling delivered by Justice Kanyi Kimondo, the court affirmed that the DPP had established a strong prima facie case against the suspects Eric Mungera Isabwa, Raphael Kimani Gachii, Mustafa Kimani Anyoni, and Stephen Astiva Lipopo.

The four are accused of orchestrating the cold-blooded killing of Muchai, his two police bodyguards namely Constable Samuel Kimathi and Constable Samuel Lekakeny alongside his driver, Stephen Ituu Wambugu, along Kenyatta Avenue in February 2015.

This development follows an intensive prosecution, which successfully called 37 witnesses, presenting a blend of direct, circumstantial, and documentary evidence to link the accused to the heinous crime. 

Among the testimonies was that of a protected taxi driver who placed one of the accused, Mustafa Kimani Anyoni, at the centre of the crime and produced a gun safety pin discovered in his vehicle, later confirmed as evidence.

In detailed submissions, the DPP demonstrated that the killings were not random but premeditated, pointing to the accused persons’ use of dangerous weapons and the execution-style shootings as evidence of careful planning. Autopsy reports by Dr. Johansen Oduor confirmed all four victims died of close-range gunshot wounds from high-velocity firearms.

Justice Kimondo, while placing the accused on their defence, acknowledged the strength of the prosecution’s case, though he refrained from making findings on parallel robbery-with-violence charges pending before a Nairobi magistrate’s court.

Meanwhile, three co-accused, Jane Wanjiru Kamau, Margaret Njeri Wachiuri, and Simon Wambugu Gichamba were acquitted after the court found insufficient evidence against them in a ruling that underscores the DPP’s steadfast commitment to pursuing justice in one of Kenya’s most high-profile political assassinations.

The case now proceeds to defence hearing on October 22, 2025, where the four accused will be required to respond to the weight of evidence marshaled by the prosecution.