Soldier tells court his father slashed relative to death

A man in Meru is facing charges over the murder of his uncle. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mr Alfred Kinyua said his father Stanley Murea Ntokirari slashed to death his brother Francis Mithika Ntokirari on the night of February 7, 2014.

A soldier shocked a the High Court in Meru after he said his father killed his uncle over a protracted tea farm row in Kirindine village.

Mr Alfred Kinyua said his father Stanley Murea Ntokirari slashed to death his brother Francis Mithika Ntokirari on the night of February 7, 2014.

Murea, who died in February 2019, had been charged with the death of Mithika alongside his other son Titus Kimathi.

While testifying in a case where the court has placed Kimathi on defence, Mr Kinyua said his brother had been assigned to guard miraa on the fateful night, and there was no way he could have been at the scene of crime.

He pleaded with Mr Justice Francis Gikonyo to release his brother, arguing he was innocent.

The soldier said the two deceased brothers and another one, had been sworn antagonists and the families had strained relationship, with the enmity being handed over to their children.

 “I learnt from an early age that the brothers who were not from the same mother, were not friends. The families never visited one another.

“I want to tell the court that my father and Francis Mithika had been having constant quarrels. Mithika had in 2002 attacked and slashed my mother over a tea plantation,” said Mr Kinyua.

He said that on the day Mithika was killed, he was attending evening classes at the nearby Kirindine Secondary School when he found a vehicle ferrying the deceased to the hospital in critical condition.

“I learnt that he had been slashed by my dad. The accused is my brother and he learnt about the attack from me since he was away,” Mr Kinyua told the trial judge.

He revealed that he had also been arrested alongside his father and brother, but was released after teachers and students corroborated his alibi.

On cross examination by State Counsel Vincent Maina, the army man said that even if his father was alive, he would have testified that he was the killer.

“My uncle wanted to frame us. He wanted us arrested so that he could take the land. Our chief and village elders know about the matter and can testify to it. I pray that the court releases my brother since he is innocent,” said Mr Kinyua.

Hearing continues.