Dennis Kennedy Mbugua, who was murdered on January 13, 2023, allegedly by his two uncles, one of whom has since jumped bail.
On January 16, 2023, Mr Paul Mukumu Mbugua was arrested at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) as he was about to leave the country.
Mr Mukumu, a citizen of both Kenya and the United States of America, holds both Kenyan and American passports and was flying to the US, where he has worked for the past 10 years.
Airport arrest
He was no stranger to flying abroad. Mr Mukumu had worked in New Zealand between 2004 and 2012.
After that, he obtained an American green card, which allowed him to move to the US in September 2013, where he worked as a caregiver.
But on that fateful day at JKIA, the traveller had aroused suspicion as he attempted to leave the country.
Three days earlier, Mr Mukumu's nephew, Dennis Kennedy Mbugua, 35, had been murdered in Nakuru.
Authorities believed that Mr Mukumu had something to do with the killing of his sister's son on January 13 at Miti Mingi sub-location in Gilgil sub-county.
Investigators suspected Mr Mukumu, 59, and his younger brother John Kirika, 56, of killing Mbugua, a son of their elder sister Jane Waithera, 64.
"It is alleged that he (Mr Mukumu) went into hiding after the crime and was arrested at JKIA on his way to the US," High Court Judge Grace Nzioka would later say.
Paul Mukumu, the Kenyan/USA citizen on the run after being accused of murdering his brother's nephew.
Murder allegations
Therefore, three days after the murder, Mr Mukumu was intercepted by immigration officers at JKIA and handed over to police "while he was fleeing the country", according to Detective Sergeant Hesbon Otieno, who investigated the murder.
Mr Mukumu and Mr Kirika were subsequently charged with Mbugua's murder in February 2023.
On the day of the alleged murder, prosecutors said Mr Kirika had travelled from Kahawa West in Nairobi and Mr Mukumu from Lanet in Nakuru.
The two met in Gilgil where they allegedly killed Mbugua at his grandmother's house.
Dennis Kennedy Mbugua, who was murdered on January 13, 2023, allegedly by his two uncles, one of whom has since jumped bail.
Following a mental evaluation on February 8 and 9, 2023, the two were found fit to stand trial for murder. They pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The prosecution stated that it intended to call 10 prosecution witnesses.
On March 7, 2023, the two suspects applied to the High Court in Naivasha to be released on bail pending their murder trial.
During the proceedings, the State revealed that Mr Mukumu had attempted to flee the country in order to oppose the bail application on the grounds that the accused was a flight risk.
The investigating officer had also revealed that Mr Kirika had a New Zealand work visa which expired on November 3, 2023.
Previously, Mr Kirika had resided in Botswana from 1999 to 2007 and "occasionally travels to New Zealand for short work assignments after which he returns to Kenya", according to court papers.
The court had heard that the two had been out on cash bail of Sh100,000, granted by the Nakuru Chief Magistrate's Court on January 17 and 18, 2023, respectively, in a separate assault case, and had "proved very difficult to cooperate with the police".
"When summoned to report to DCI Gilgil, they refuse to do so as directed or fail to do so and choose to come at a time of their own choosing," Mr Otieno had told the court.
Flight risk concerns
The investigating officer had opposed their bail application, saying "given the seriousness of the offence, each accused person is likely to abscond from the trial or interfere with the witnesses as the key witnesses are their close family members and neighbours".
"Furthermore, each accused person is at high risk of fleeing the country as they both reside abroad," he told the court.
Mr Otieno had then recounted the events of Mr Mukumu's arrest at JKIA earlier this year.
“Hence, that is enough proof that both the accused persons are a flight risk and thus cannot be trusted if released on bond or bail,” he had told the court.
The court had referred to a pre-bail report that indicated that each of the accused has business interests outside the country, either on an employment basis or otherwise.
Citing reports, Mr Mukumu had initially gone into hiding and had attempted to flee the country following the murder, Justice Nzioka had acknowledged the suspects were a flight risk.
“In my opinion, all these indicate clearly that unless this court imposes stringent bond terms and takes into account the seriousness and gravity of the offence, the accused are indeed flight risk,” the judge had observed.
The judge then ordered the release of each accused on a bond of Sh2 million with a surety or two sureties of a similar amount. She instructed that the sureties must be Kenyans and domiciled in Kenya, with proof provided. “No order for cash bail at this stage,” Justice Nzioka had ruled.
“All their travel documents, namely, passports, work permits or any other documents that will enable them to travel out of the country must be surrendered to the court before they are released,” Justice Nzioka had ordered.
“Each accused shall not travel out of the country during the pendency of this case without leave and/or order of the court. To enforce the aforesaid, this order be circulated to all exit points,” the judge had directed.
The judge also ordered that the suspects initially report to the investigating officer or DCIO twice a week for the first three months, and based on the progress report, the court would review the duration of the visits.
“The bond approval will be carried out by the Hon Deputy Registrar in strict compliance with the orders of the court as given above,” Justice Nzioka directed in her ruling on March 7, 2023.
On March 10, 2023, Mr Nathan Nadwa stood surety for Mr Kirika by depositing a title deed for land ref: Bahati/Kabatini/1/13588 valued at Sh2.3 million.
And Mr Joseph Kag’ethe deposited his title deed for land ref: Miti Mingi/Mbaruk/block4/742 (Igorok) to secure Mr Mukumu’s release.
However, in the course of the murder case, Mr Mukumu disappeared. The court was informed he last complied with the bail conditions to report to the DCI on November 20, 2023.
On January 18, 2024, Mr Mukumu failed to show up in court.
When it became apparent that Mr Mukumu had jumped bail- the case had stalled for 16 months, including because of multiple applications for adjournment by the accused persons - the prosecution sought a warrant of arrest against him.
"The information we have is that the second accused breached the condition of release. He last reported to the investigating officer on November 20, 2023. He is not in court. His mobile phone, available to the investigating officer, has since gone out of service. The records of attendance and mobile phone have been filed. We seek for warrant of arrest for the second accused and a summons to issue to the surety," the prosecution submitted.
But how did a suspect whose travel documents were in the custody of the court flee?
It emerged that suspect travel documents were deposited with the Naivasha court registry. The passport Mr Mukumu surrendered was an old generation that had been phased out by the Directorate of immigration services.
The old generation Kenyan passport.
The court was also informed that the passport that Mr Mukumu had deposited in compliance with bond terms did not tally with the passport number by the investigating officer and in the court record.
"There is no record that the second accused deposited his USA passport. I pray the file be placed before the Deputy Registrar to verify the documents deposited in the court and those from the office of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Gilgil," the lawyer for the family of the murdered man said.
On February 1, 2024, Mr Kang'ethe, who had stood surety for Mr Mukumu and who had been summoned to appear before the court, reported that he was not aware of the whereabouts of the accused.
Justice Nzioka gave him seven days to trace him. Mr Kang'ethe was back in court on February 8, 2024, reporting that he was yet to find the accused. He, however, said he was ready to forfeit his land to the State, causing an outcry from the victim's counsel.
"The surety is asking the court to encourage impunity and create an incentive for subversion of justice. There is a clear orchestrated conspiracy to defeat the administration of justice. The surety has not told the court what he is doing to avail the accused. All they are saying is that we have no accused, take the land," the lawyer protested.
In granting the application for the issuance of the warrant, Judge Nzioka ruled that "if an accused person fails to appear in court, a warrant of arrest will be issued. Once he appears, he will be heard. Therefore, the warrant will be issued accordingly," Justice Grace Nzioka ruled as she ordered the Gilgil Officer Commanding Station (OCS) to arrest the suspect in the first instance.
Justice Nzioka said: "The purpose of a criminal justice system is for the matter to be heard and determined...Therefore, the first issue should be to trace the accused to come to court. In that, the matter is stood over to March 13, 2024, for the investigating officer to update the court on the progress made in execution of the warrant of arrest".
On March 13, 2024, the state counsel reported authorities had contacted Interpol to help arrest the fugitive.
Justice Nzioka ordered the investigating officer to furnish the court on June 25, 2024, with a comprehensive report on steps taken to execute the warrant of arrest against Mr Mukumu.
The court was also notified that a buyer for the land surrendered to the state as a guarantee for his court appearance had been found.
On July 23, 2024, Justice Nzioka ruled: "Pursuant to the provisions of section 131 of the Criminal Procedure Code, I direct that the security deposited in court by the surety of the second accused be forfeited to the state.”
After the back and forth legal arguments, Justice Nzioka directed that the murder trial will proceed even with Mr Mukumu absent.
Hearing is scheduled on April 8, 2025.
mwangilink@gmail.com
