By Kamadi Amata

The high court in Eldoret found Naftali Kinuthia guilty of murdering Moi University medical student Ivy Wangeci four years ago.

Justice Reuben Githinji ruled that the prosecution had proved the offence of murder and the accused stands convicted.

The judge trashed Kinuthia’s defence in which the accused claimed he was provoked after Ivy ended their love relationship and went for another man.

“Even text messages reviewed did not prove evidence of an intimate relationship and the the accused did not also prove a sexual relationship with the deceased,” Githinji said.

He noted that the accused used a lethal weapon- an axe and hit the deceased several leaving her with no chance of survival.

“If he did not want to kill her he would have used bare feasts on her and not the axe,”  Githinji said.

The judge noted that claims of provocation by Kinuthia were not true.

Kinuthia followed the proceedings virtually from the Eldoret GK prison as the judge delivered it virtually from Malindi where he is currently stationed.

The family of the deceased and the prosecution have demanded a maximum sentence for murder against Kinuthia.

The judge set November 22 for mitigation and sentencing against Kinuthia.

Wangechi was hacked to death outside the Moi Referral Hospital in Eldoret on April 9, 2019.

Naftali had earlier narrated how the incident happened when he gave his final defence evidence in the murder case.

Kinuthia said he had travelled to Eldoret on the material day to personally wish Ivy a happy birthday even though their relationship was estranged and that she had blocked his phone for some time making it impossible for him to reach her.

He says he tried severally to reconcile their differences and communicated to her through a friend identified as Mary Ann Chepkoech.

“I wanted to wish her happy birthday and also inform her that I would not attend the party because I was to travel back to Nairobi immediately for work.

“I also wanted to deliver the balance for the party personally,” Kinuthia said.

While near the hostels she saw Ivy and went to meet her.  Ivy was surprised to see him and immediately informed him that her new boyfriend would take care of the cost of the birthday party.

He said it became apparent that she had ignored him and wanted nothing to do with him

“In my mind, I felt like a loser and hopeless because of what she said. I became angry and felt bad that the connection we had since 1998 had suddenly come to an end,” he said.