On September 10, 2020, Michael Muchiri, then aged 22, captured headlines after he clobbered his father, James Mwangi, to death and proceeded to burn his body after dousing it with petrol.
His mother, Mary Waithera, unsuccessfully tried to put out the fire using water, soil, and tree branches in a desperate effort to save her husband’s life. The macabre murder happened in Muchunguca Village in Kiharu Constituency.
After five years in remand, Muchiri, now aged 27, has been jailed for 30 years.
“I am sorry. I did it, and I know it is hard for my family to forgive me,” he said resignedly.
Speaking to the media after sentencing, Muchiri added: “If my family finds it hard to forgive me, I understand their pain. My last hope is that my God will forgive me.”
Muchiri recalled how he witnessed his hysterical mother trying to battle the fire during the 7:30pm incident. After he was sure his mission had been accomplished, he disappeared into the night to escape the wrath of neighbours who had started to flood the homestead.
“I was not normal... I was abusing bhang, benzodiazepines, as well as illicit brews. After trying my luck as a fruit vendor, I don’t know how I veered off into peddling bhang, brewing chang’aa, selling it, and abusing it,” he says.
The deceased, then aged 68, was a member of the Akorino faith, and his white turban was also consumed by the petrol-aided fireball that engulfed him.
Mwangi used to work in an entertainment joint near Murang’a Town, where he specialized in roasting meat.
Mr Michael Muchiri who is serving a 30-year jail term for murdering his father.
Photo credit: Pool
When police officers finally arrived around 9pm to collect the charred remains of Mwangi, the suspect was nowhere to be seen.
His freedom was short-lived, however, as he was spotted on the evening of September 15, 2020, by a hawk-eyed sleuth in Juja Town, Kiambu County.
His photo had been circulated to all police stations marked: “Wanted fugitive. Crime of murder. Apprehend dead or alive upon sight.”
The police signal detailing his arrest indicated that Mwangi had attempted to resist arrest, and members of the public joined efforts to subdue him.
“He was finally subdued, arrested alive despite the members of the public raining hard blows on him, and repatriated back to Murang’a Police Station to undergo due process on suspicion that he had murdered his biological father,” the signal read in part.
A postmortem report on the deceased indicated that he had been hit with a blunt object on the head, fracturing his skull, and had also suffered severe burns that consumed 62 per cent of his body.
Muchiri was arraigned on September 16, 2020, at the Murang’a High Court, where detectives successfully sought to continue holding him for 21 days to conclude investigations. When he finally took his plea, he denied the charge.
Mrs Waithera testified that she was busy preparing supper inside her semi-permanent kitchen when she heard a commotion outside.
“I ventured out to know what was happening. I had heard the voices of my husband and my son. Once outside, I was greeted by a fireball on a path leading to our home. I ran there,” she said.
“As I approached the scene, I saw my son standing near the flames... I was dazed. My son stood there like a statue, not responding to my confused inquiries. But in the consciousness of my mind, I figured out that the burning thing was my husband,” she said.
She recounted how she attempted to save him from the fire while screaming, and when neighbours streamed in, she realized that her son had vanished.
Court documents indicate that the suspect suffered a neurological disorder while in custody and had to be treated and counselled.
The case dragged on for five years until the State moved in 2025 to unlock it through a plea bargain.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions guided the case through the plea bargain arrangement.
The initial murder charge was reduced to manslaughter, though the prosecution emphasized the brutality of the crime.
Muchiri says he was asked whether he intended to continue the case against his mother, who was the key witness.
“I said no. I agreed to change my plea to guilty as charged. I was told that the charge would be watered down and the conviction fairer. I cooperated willingly and under no duress,” he said.
The DPP’s office urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence that would send a strong message against such offences. The court concurred with the prosecution’s submissions.
“In noting the particularly heinous nature of the murder, I sentence the accused to 30 years imprisonment, underscoring the court’s commitment to ensuring justice while acknowledging the DPP’s role in securing accountability through the plea bargain process,” the court ruled on September 25, 2025.
Muchiri now believes that his mother “only testified on what she witnessed at the scene... she was not privy to the heavy tensions between me and my father.”
He says his father had noted his drug abuse and, in insisting that he reform, a silent enmity grew between them.
“My mother also did not say that my father constantly abused her through beatings. I was very cross with him, but I always aspired not to confront him,” he said.
“On the fateful day, my father arrived home on a bodaboda. He had a parcel. I was moving out of the compound when the rider called me to help him unload.”
“I was not on talking terms with my father. Still, I did not find it wise to show the rider that there was no peace between us,” he said.
Muchiri says he chose to safeguard the family’s honour by obeying the call—an obedience that turned costly for both father and son.
“My father apparently did not expect me to obey the call to help him. But I had chosen to obey. I was approaching them when my father roared at me: ‘You dog, cow... I don’t want to see you near me,’” he recalls.
“Here I was responding to help him carry his luggage just to save face and hide the bad blood between us, but here he was baring the differences in such a raw manner. I felt strange anger seize me... I remembered how he was abusing my mum, and I was no longer myself,” he said.
Muchiri said: “I only remember rushing to my house and coming out with a plank of wood and a jerry can of petrol. I had a matchbox since I was a bhang and cigarette smoker.”
He said his father was on his way to the house when “I confronted him, demanding to know how long he would keep hurting me and my mother.”
“Here I am, a soul that has suffered immensely in remand. But at least I have sobered up. It was a terrible thing that I did, but I am sorry. I will concentrate on serving my full term and hope that my family members and society will forgive me,” he said.
According to the court’s ruling, Muchiri will receive a five-year remission, and the five years he spent in remand will count toward his sentence, meaning his release year will be 2040.
“It will be a journey. I am only 27. I will be released when I am 47 years old. I have no choice, but in my reflections, I know my God is faithful and can make His mercies manifest in my life,” he said.
Muchiri’s uncle, James Waweru, told Nation that “as a family, we have embraced the issue in our stride.”
He said: “While Mwangi cannot come back to life, his son remains our kin, who is facing the wheels of justice. We cannot disown him. We are also a Christian family and appreciate that beyond this mix of emotions, His justice is supreme.”
Waweru added: “As a family, we will continue to love and pray for Muchiri. It is up to him to seek God’s favour.”
