Rachael Cherop Biwott, a senior accountant at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, who was allegedly murdered by her husband, Francis Mwangi, on June 22, 2024.
A witness in a murder case stunned an Eldoret court after recounting how a family trip from work to home turned tragic when a man allegedly lured his wife to her death on suspicion of infidelity.
The witness, who is under protection, told Justice Emily Ominde at the High Court how Francis Ndirangu Mwangi, a businessman in Eldoret town, offered to pick up his wife, Rachael Cherop Biwott - a senior assistant accountant at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) - only for the mission to end in a gruesome murder.
"The accused, who is my close friend, had on several occasions complained to me about his wife's infidelity. I was with him on the fateful day when he left his shop to pick her up from her place of work, only for her dismembered body parts to be found later in Nandi and Uasin Gishu counties," the witness said.
He recounted how he accompanied the accused to see his wife's mutilated body at the MTRH mortuary.
"When he saw the body of the deceased, Mwangi looked disturbed. He had earlier told me that his wife was cheating on him. The issue had been bothering him for a long time," the witness added.
The witness told the court that three days before the tragic incident, the accused had asked him to help identify a man called Eric whom he suspected of having an affair with his wife.
He (the witness) knew Eric.
The witness said that the accused had visited him to ask for help in identifying Eric for an unspecified mission.
The couple had four children, who have accused their father of subjecting their mother to frequent domestic violence before her brutal murder, which they have linked to gender-based violence (GBV) allegedly perpetrated by their father.
Her murder sparked protests by anti-femicide activists in Eldoret demanding justice for the deceased's family.
According to police records, the deceased was last seen leaving her workplace in the company of the accused at around 7pm on June 22, 2024.
The witness said he later learned that police officers had transported body parts from various crime scenes in Nandi and Uasin Gishu counties. After the remains were discovered, the accused asked him to accompany him to the MTRH mortuary where the remains were being preserved.
"Mwangi, who is my close friend, asked me - along with his neighbours, including a pastor from Shauri Estate on the outskirts of Eldoret City - to accompany him to the mortuary, where he claimed that the police had brought the remains of his wife, whom he had reported missing three days earlier," said the witness, code-named A. Ironically, the witness told the court that despite the shocking state of the remains at the mortuary, the accused showed no signs of grief, shock or empathy over the death of his wife. He noted that Mwangi simply went about his business.
According to the charge sheet, Mwangi is accused of killing his wife on the night of June 22-23, 2024 at Shauri Estate in Eldoret City, Uasin Gishu County.
He has denied the charge.
The court refused to grant him a bond, citing fears for his safety due to public anger and outcry over the manner in which the murder was committed.
The hearing continues.
tominde@ke.nationmedia.com
