Ms Jane Muthomi, the former headmistress of Icaciri Secondary School in Kiambu, who has been in Lang’ata Women’s Prison since 2016 has finally been sentenced for 30 years for murdering her husband in 2016.
Muthoni was charged with hiring killers to murder her husband.
October last year she suffered a blow on after a High Court judge declined to grant an order allowing her daughter to re-testify.
While dismissing the application, Justice Joel Ngugi said recalling the witness at the defense stage would lead to a mistrial as the witness is likely to recant her evidence.
He noted that the prosecution had already produced 21 witnesses since 2017 and the case closed in November 2019.
Justice Ngugi further noted that defense lawyer Francis Njanja had not informed, disclosed or given an explanation to the court or the prosecution why he needed witness PW4 to be re-called.
Solomon Mwangi, a former principal of Kiru Boy’s Secondary school, was murdered on November 6, 2016 in Juja, Kiambu County.
The murder plot leaked after one of the killers, Joseph Njuguna, alias Karis revealed how the plot was hatched after being paid only Sh100,000 of the promised Sh300,000 for accomplishing the deadly mission.
Njuguna was a State witness after he owned up to the killing and was charged with man-slaughter.
He is currently serving a seven year jail term at Kamiti Maximum Prison.
During cross-examination by the prosecution team, data and phone records from Safaricom placed the murder suspects Isaac Ng’ang ‘a, Ms Muthoni and another suspect only identified in court as Mr Njiru, who has been at large since the incident happened, at the crime scene.
Mr Nganga’ admitted that he knew Mr Njiru as a businessman and as a friend, but denied hatching the murder plot.
“I was introduced to Karis by Mr Njiru and our discussion was on how we can expand our miraa business in Murang’a and part of Thika Road, and nowhere did we discuss murdering the deceased,” Mr Ng’ang’a told Justice Ngugi.
Ms Esther Wambui told the court her sister Muthoni froze the bank accounts of the principal immediately he went missing.
Ms Wambui also told the court that Mwangi had broken teeth when his body was found.
In his confession, Njuguna had admitted that Ms Muthoni wanted her husband killed because she suspected him of having an illicit relationship with an M-Pesa attendant in Murang’a.
Njuguna had also told the court that Mr Ng’anga and Njiru visited their target in Kiria-ini, Murang’a County and bought a soft drink from her shop.
Mr Njuguna said that the location was not convenient for the killing since there was an Equity Bank with CCTV nearby.
The court was told that Mrs Muthoni hired a vehicle on November 6, 2016 and informed her husband to accompany her to view a commercial plot they had planned to buy from Urithi Housing Cooperative society in Kiambu.
Ms AMuthoni allegedly called the killers and told them to meet at Urithi near Ndarugo on Thika Road the following day.
The following day the court was told, Mwangi was drugged by his wife, who later handed him to the killers, who strangled him using a rope.
