Court rejects plea to charge man with manslaughter for killing wife in Kayole

A Nairobi Court has rejected a plea agreement bargain for Joshua Mureri Kayeri, who is accused of killing his wife, Maureen Chagenda Miremso, following a domestic dispute.

Mureri is accused of killing his wife in Soweto, Kayole Sub-County, within Nairobi County, on January 12, 2020.

The prosecution had presented him before Milimani High Court Justice Alexander Muteti on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, where he pleaded guilty to killing his wife but without intending to, for him to be charged for manslaughter instead of murder.

According to Prosecutor Dela Wilbey, Mureri used to work at a construction site in Thika during the week, and he would come back home to his wife on weekends.

Their lives revolved around chaos, which neighbours were aware of because they used to fight frequently, but they would later reconcile and continue with their lives as a married couple.

The court was told that on January 8, 2020, the deceased decided to leave their house and moved in with a friend, Claris Adema, within the same area in Kayole while her husband was at work in Thika.

What transpired

According to the State, she ran away for fear of her life because her husband had turned extremely violent.

On January 12, 2020, the accused called the deceased and informed her that he would like them to have a conversation with her since he did not find her at home.

Not interested in the conversation, the deceased went ahead and switched off her phone.

He then proceeded to call his late wife’s friend Claris and asked her to tell the deceased to go back home so that they could talk.

Claris convinced her friend; she agreed and accompanied her to her husband’s house, and they found him, who then informed her that he was hungry and asked her if she could cook something for him.

He then went out and came back carrying meat, paraffin and maize flour.

While the deceased wife was cooking the food, the accused said he felt like smoking and sent Claris to get him a cigarette.

Immediately after Claris stepped out, the accused closed the door and told the wife, “Today is your day to leave.”

This prompted the deceased to scream, attracting their neighbour Stanley Chavanji.

Also watch: Man kills wife in cold blood in Njiru Sub-County.

Neighbours intervention

Stanley dashed to check what was happening, but he found the house closed from the inside. He then peeped through a window which was open and saw the accused holding a knife, trying to stab the deceased.

However, the deceased fought the husband, snatched the knife from him and threw it under the bed.

This angered the accused, who pushed the deceased, and she fell on a sofa, then took the meat, which was boiling in the stove and threw it at the deceased’s face.

Maureen and a curtain which was near caught fire.

She then screamed again, and Stanley broke down the door, accessed the house and started fighting with the accused.

During the fight, the accused stabbed the neighbour, who then ran away from the scene.

This attracted a crowd of people who accessed the house, poured water on her, and then rushed her to Soweto Police Station.

They found Claris had already reported the incident, and they took the deceased to Mama Lucy Hospital, where she was referred to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) the following day.

On January 30, 2020, police constable Purity Njeri visited the deceased at the KNH and recorded her statement even though she was in so much pain. She later succumbed on February 2, 2020, to the burns.

Plea rejected

Justice Muteti rejected the plea bargain agreement, noting that the facts presented could not allow the suspect to be charged with manslaughter.

“Having heard the facts as narrated to the court, as stated in the plea agreement, this court rejects the plea agreement. The facts clearly could not accord with the offence of manslaughter,” Judge Muteti ruled.

He further stated that the accused will face trial for the offence of murder as originally charged before another court of competent jurisdiction.

The matter will be mentioned before the presiding judge of the division, Kanyi Kimondo, on September 29, 2025, for allocation to another judge for trial.