Teacher in senator Boniface Kabaka's hotel collapse saga now freed

Ms Esther Nthenya Muli, 45, who was freed from custody yesterday, would want to quickly put behind her events of the night of December 4 involving Machakos Senator Boniface Kabaka.

Ms Muli, the deputy principal at Mathemba Secondary School in Makueni County, was detained as police investigated an attempted murder claim but she was released yesterday after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) ruled out any criminal charges. 

Her troubles began after the senator fell ill shortly after midnight on December 4 at cwithin Kilimani area in Nairobi. He is admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of a Nairobi hospital. 

Yesterday, Ms Muli was released unconditionally from Kilimani police station where she was detained on Monday to await the result of the tests on specimen at the government chemist.

“Ms Muli was discharged from custody as there was no evidence linking her to the indisposition of Machakos Senator Boniface Mutinda Kabaka,” State prosecutor Joseph Irungu Gitonga told the Nation last evening.

“No evidence from the tests carried out on food and drink samples taken from Dee3 Hotel link her in the proposed charge of attempted murder charge,” Mr Gitonga said. “There is no case against Ms Muli.”

Ms Muli had been leading a quiet life as a teacher at Mathemba Secondary School until the saga thrust her into the national limelight. 
The deputy principal is however prominent in the sleepy Kiuva Village in Makueni County.

She was widowed following the death of her husband, Mr Henry Muli, a wealthy businessman in Wote, in 2014. Thereafter she lost her step son. 

The 45-year-old teacher, who is also a part-time lecturer at the South Eastern Kenya University’s (Seku) Wote Campus, is a mother of one teenage boy. 

Frequent customer

For months, Mr Kabaka had been a frequent patron at a popular bar in Wote town, Makueni County, especially on weekends.

On many occasions, he would be seen driving alone to the joint owned by the teacher. 
At the Wote joint, the senator would walk in and sip his favorite drink for hours on end, his mood so relaxed that nothing about him or his visits seemed to raise eyebrows in the town that teems with tens of similar entertainment facilities.

To the Wote town community, Mr Kabaka’s frequent visits meant the owner of the bar was either a trusted friend or a business partner.

Her colleagues at Mathemba Secondary School, where she was transferred last year after completing her master’s degree, say Ms Muli is a humble and friendly boss.

“Ms Muli is a good boss. We hold her in high esteem. She is like a mother to most of us. That is why we are praying for her to overcome the tribulations,” a colleague who did not want to be named told the Nation yesterday.

Well behaved

At the university, the campus director, Dr Patrick Kisangau, said the part-time lecturer conducted herself very maturely while at the institution.

“I’ve known her for some time now and she is well behaved and outgoing. What happened in Nairobi is her personal life. It has nothing to do with her job at the university,” said Dr Kisangau.

Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana also weighed in on the matter after Ms Muli was detained for seven days to allow the police complete investigations.

In a tweet, Governor Kibwana wondered why the widow was being treated as a murder suspect yet she is the one who took the senator to hospital.

"I send my Poles to the family of the Hon. Senator, Machakos, as we pray for his speedy recovery. However, the Rule of Law demands equal treatment for all. A caring lady (from Makueni) who takes a gentleman in distress to hospital cannot be a murderer. She deserves bail and justice," the governor tweeted.