The murder case of slain Moi University student Ivy Wangechi kicked off on Thursday, July 8 in Eldoret.
Ivy, a final year student was hacked to death on April 9, 2019 outside the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret by one Naftali Kinuthia, the accused who was said to be in love with Ivy.
During the hearing, key witnesses in the murder of the medical student recounted the last moments before Ivy met her death.
Andrew Koinange, a classmate of the deceased told the court in Eldoret that he was with Ivy on that very day.
Koinange told presiding judge Steven Githinji that he saw Kinuthia sneak up on Ivy while the two were walking along Nandi road near the university.
“I was barely a metre away from Ivy when I saw a figure in the corner of my eyes sneaking on to Ivy from behind,” Koinange who is now a doctor said.
He added that he saw Ivy on the ground and that Kinuthia repeatedly hacked Ivy who was already bleeding.
The court was told that it took the intervention of boda boda operators to stop a wild Kinuthia from continuing with the heinous act.
“The attacker was too strong for me to stop him. I fell down while fleeing from him and I had to shout to attract the attention of boda boda operators who begun stunning him,” a witness told the court.
He added that the boda boda operators overpowered Kinuthia before police got to the scene.
During the hearing, Winfred Waithera, Ivy’s mother who was overwhelmed by emotions told the court that she and her daughter had a very close relationship.
“My daughter and I were the best of friends, if she was in a serious relationship with the accused, I would have known,” Waithera said.
Kiroko Ndegwa, the family’s lawyer praised the court for hearing the case after previous setbacks.
“I hail the court for expediting this case. We hope the case will be determined soon and that Ivy’s family will get justice,” Ndegwa said.
Thursday’s hearing of the case comes after the family’s fifth attempt to have the matter heard after the prosecution adjourned the matter stating that the defense lawyer was unavailable.
“When we come here, someone comfortably says the lawyer is not there. Was it not known as early as yesterday that the lawyer was not available. Who helps the people in this country whose members have been killed?” Ivy’s mother posed while addressing the press in May.
“This is the third year since the incident happened and unto now the prosecution has never opened the case, not because of a mistake of their own but because of the well-calculated moves by the defense, the accused person to frustrate this cause,” the lawyer said.
