George Thuo's kin recount his last moments, deny claims of rift with widow

Two brothers of former Juja MP George Thuo on Tuesday testified about his last moments with family members at a wedding and denied claims that he had a conflict with his wife before his death.

They said the couple attended the wedding a day before Mr Thuo, who was in “perfect health”, collapsed at Porkies bar in Thika Town and died.

They said Mr Thuo was in a jovial mood throughout the occasion.

The prosecution, in its case, argues that Mr Thuo's drink was laced with a fast-reacting pesticide at the bar and has charged six people with the murder.

The suspects include the bar owner, Mr Paul Wainaina, alias Sheki, a woman said to have bought the suspect drink, a waitress who served it and three others.

They are detained in a remand prison after being denied bail for fear that they may interfere with prosecution witnesses.

'SPECTACULAR' WEDDING

Mr Samuel Ngugi, a younger brother of the deceased, recalled that they had “a spectacular" wedding for their younger sibling, Lawrence Nganga, in which he was the best man and which Mr Thuo had been actively involved in organizing.

“George attended the wedding in the company of his wife, Judy...I was staying at a guesthouse with my wife at their home in Thika and on November 17, a day after the wedding, the deceased asked me to join him for breakfast. He was well physically and in a jovial mood,” he said.

He said that while having breakfast they agreed to go out together for lunch as a family at a restaurant in Kitengela owned by one of their friends.

“We were driven by my brother in his vehicle,” the witness said, adding that during the journey “nothing unusual” occurred.

He said they arrived at around 1.30pm and Mr Thuo ordered chicken and goat meat, which they all shared as they discussed their younger brother’s wedding.

They were later joined by the younger brother and his newly-wed wife and Mr Thuo ordered more chicken for the couple.

The witness said they later drove in a convoy to Athi River, where Mr Ngang’a and his wife had brought a residential house.

“We went there so that he could show us the new house and later parted in the deceased's car for Thika, to his residence, where I lived during the wedding,” Mr Ngugi said.

NO STRAINED RELATIONSHIP

He said Mr Thuo had mentioned to him that they would go to watch a Formula One race at the Porkies bar and had called Mr Wainaina, the bar owner, for reservations.

But he did not accompany Mr Thuo to the bar because he "felt tired" after the wedding celebration.

That was the last time he saw his brother alive.

He later got a phone call in the night from Mr Thuo’s wife asking him to accompany her to the hospital where her husband had been rushed after collapsing at the bar.

Mr Ngang’a said his brother's death caused him to cancel a planned honeymoon in Dubai at the last moment.

He also denied that Mr Thuo had a strained relationship with his wife.

“He was not the kind of person who would hurt and not speak about it. I could have heard him talk about a problem he had, whether it was his health or in his relationship… he talked about his family a lot, ” he said.

“He was very jovial and joked a lot about what the MC said at the wedding,” he said.

The hearing continues.