A mosquito net, toaster, Luminarc plates, bed covers, fruit mixer, blow dryer, and an iron box — ordinary household items — became the crucial evidence that nailed a suspect accused of killing a woman in Mtwapa and stuffing her body inside a wardrobe.
These items led the High Court to find Robert Waliaula Kinisu guilty of the brutal murder of Mtwapa businesswoman Jacqueline Ngina Kitheka, turning what was once a lively home into a scene of horror. Ngina, a hardworking entrepreneur, was killed as she prepared to marry her British fiancé, Harry Harrington.
Jacqueline Ngina Kitheka whose body was found stuffed in a wardrobe at her home in Mtwapa, Kilifi County, in May 2021.
Photo credit: Brian Ocharo I Nation Media Group
Though there was no eyewitness, the High Court in Mombasa relied on a chain of events, witness testimony, and exhibits recovered from a shylock where Waliaula had deposited the items as security for a soft loan.
“The items recovered belonged to Ngina, and that is what linked Waliaula to the murder,” the court ruled, adding that the circumstantial evidence presented was strong and unbroken.
The first prosecution witness, Scholastica Maghoha, told the court that Waliaula had been her boyfriend since March 2020. She invited him to live with her, in her Mtwapa house, where they cohabited until November that year before moving to Mombasa.
One day, she said, police called asking about him. She helped identify several items he had brought home — items she later learned belonged to Ngina.
“One of the things he brought home was an iron box,” she said, adding that it disappeared just days later. She also identified white mosquito nets, Luminarc plates, a brown bag, a mattress cover, and a black cable among the items that appeared in their home.
On May 2, 2021, she recalled, he left home unusually early — around 3am — and returned two hours later with a TV, a fan, and some extension cables. “When police later called me to record a statement, he hurriedly removed the TV and fan, saying he had no receipts,” she testified.
The family of Jacqueline Ngina Kitheka leaves the Mombasa law courts on October 22, 2025 after the delivery of a judgment in which Robert Waliaula Kinisu was found guilty of killing Ms Ngina.
Photo credit: Brian Ocharo | Nation
Ngina’s cousin, Mary Nduku, told the court she was among the first to enter Ngina’s house after her disappearance. The house was in disarray, with many items missing including a TV, laptop, shoes, mosquito net, Luminarc plates, gas cooker, and a travelling bag.
She identified several of the items in court, saying she had last seen them during a visit before Ngina’s death. “The white mosquito net and the Luminarc plates were hers,” she said.
Ngina’s friend, Catherine Wasike, recounted how on May 6, 2021, she was called by her sister in Switzerland, who had been informed that Ngina had not been seen for two days, and that a foul smell was coming from her house.
“When we arrived, the landlord and police were there. The door was locked from inside. The sitting room was missing the TV, iron box, blender, and toaster,” she said.
When officers forced open the second bedroom, they found Ngina’s decomposing body stuffed inside a wardrobe, her head on the floor and legs pointing upward.
The chain of evidence widened when a Mtwapa shylock, Hamisi Mohamed Kamau, took the stand. He testified that on May 4, 2021, around 8pm, a man came to his shop seeking a loan, claiming his child was sick.
“He had a blender, toaster, and juice mixer. I sent him Sh1,550 to his phone,” Kamau said, under the guidance of prosecution counsel Ngiri Wangui. Five days later, the same man returned with an iron box and received another Sh2,050.
Two weeks later, police traced the items to his shop, saying they were linked to a murder. He confirmed in court that the person who brought them was Waliaula.
M-Pesa records showed the sender’s name as “Brown Kipande”, a number that matched Ngina’s last phone contact.
Ruth Wairuri, a receptionist at Mayer Lodge, told the court that on May 23, 2021, a man identifying himself as Waliaula booked a room and left a brown travelling bag. Police arrived later that day, retrieved the bag, and said it belonged to a murdered woman. She identified both the bag and the accused in court.
Government Chemist David Ngumbao said tests on Ngina’s organs found no toxic substances, while pathologist Irene Muramba testified that the cause of death could not be anatomically determined due to decomposition.
Lead investigator Dennis Isemeki said the case began after the body was found in a wardrobe at Marina, Mtwapa. Analysis of phone data showed Ngina’s last contact was with a number linked to the suspect — the same one that had communicated with Kamau, the shylock.
“From the shop, we recovered a blender, toaster, iron box, fruit mixer, blow dryer, and laptop,” he said. Detectives later tracked Waliaula to Garden Park Hotel, opposite the Mtwapa DCI offices, where he was arrested.
Robert Waliaula Kinisu at a court in Mombasa August 3, 2016 during the hearing of a case in which he was charged with violent robbery and murder of a model. On October 22, 2025, in a different case, he was found guilty of the brutal murder of Mtwapa businesswoman Jacqueline Ngina Kitheka.
Photo credit: File | Nation
A search of his house, shared with Ms Maghoha, led to the recovery of several items belonging to Ngina, including a mosquito net, bag, clothes, and utensils.
In his defence, Waliaula denied the charges, saying he was an electrician and plumber and was wrongly accused. He said police arrested him while he was drinking and assaulted him. He denied knowing the shylock or using the name Brown Kipande.
“The accused was in possession of items belonging to Ngina, some of which he pawned for money. He gave no plausible explanation as to how he came into possession of them,” the court said.
The court noted his conduct — sneaking out at night, disposing of property, and evading questions — showed intent to conceal the crime.
“These were not acts of accident or provocation. They were calculated and cruel,” the court noted.
It found him guilty of murder, closing a case in which simple household items told the story of a life violently taken and a killer unmasked.
“I am personally sad, as this tragic incident should never have occurred. Ngina had so much to live for. We had plans and hoped our lives were moving forward on a positive note. That future has been robbed from both of us. I am devastated by the loss and completely changed,” he told the Nation after the October 22 verdict.
In 2026, Waliaula made headlines for violently robbing and killing Mombasa-based model Janet Adhiambo Asuna at her Kizingo residence.
He was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to death by a magistrate’s court, but was acquitted by the High Court in 2019 on appeal after serving one year in prison.
