Written by Joyce Nzomo
According to the charge sheet, on 12/1/2020 in Soweto, Kayole Subcounty, Nairobi County, Joshua Mureri killed his wife, Maureen, without intending to.
He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter, but the prosecution read out the details of the case, leading the court to reject the plea agreement.
Joshua and Maureen were husband and wife living in the Soweto slums of Kayole. The accused worked at a construction site in Thika during weekdays and would return home on weekends. Their marriage was troubled, with frequent fights followed by reconciliation.
On 8/1/2020, while the accused was away at work, Maureen left their home and moved into the house of her friend, Clarice Adema, who was also known to the accused. She left because of constant disputes in the marriage and told Clarice that she feared for her life as Joshua had become violent.
On 12/1/2020, the accused called Maureen but she refused to talk to him and hung up. He then called Clarice, asking her to convince Maureen to return home. Clarice agreed and accompanied Maureen back to the house.
When they arrived, they found Joshua at home. He told Maureen he was hungry and asked her to cook. He left briefly and returned with meat, paraffin, and maize flour. While Maureen was cooking, Joshua said he wanted to smoke and sent Clarice to the shop to buy cigarettes.
As soon as Clarice left, Joshua locked the door and told Maureen, “Today is your day to die.”
Her screams attracted their neighbor, Stanley, who lived next door. When he rushed over, he found the door locked. Looking through the window, he saw Joshua trying to stab Maureen with a knife. She struggled, managed to wrestle the knife away, and threw it under the bed.
This enraged Joshua. He pushed Maureen onto the sofa, took the boiling meat from the stove, and poured it onto her face. She, together with a nearby curtain, caught fire.
Stanley broke into the house and tried to rescue her but was stabbed by Joshua, who then fled the scene. A crowd gathered, extinguished the fire, and rushed Maureen to Soweto Police Station, where they found that Clarice had already reported the matter. Police directed that she be taken to Mama Lucy Hospital, and the following day she was transferred to Kenyatta National Hospital.
On 30/1/2020, despite being in severe pain, Maureen recorded her statement with PC Njeri at Kenyatta. Sadly, she passed away on 2/2/2020. A postmortem conducted on 7/2/2020 revealed that she died as a result of second-degree burns covering 36% of her body.
In his ruling, Justice Muteti stated: “Having heard the facts as stated in the plea agreement, this court rejects the same. The facts clearly do not accord with the charge of manslaughter. The accused shall face trial for the charge of murder as originally charged before another court.”
The case will be mentioned on 29/9/2025 before Justice Kimondo for allocation to another judge for trial.
