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How wife hired us for Sh400k to kill school principal – suspect


A suspect in the murder of Kiru High School Principal Solomon Mwangi, whose body was found in a thicket in Kiambu late last year, stunned the court after he admitted taking part in the murder after being promised Sh400,000 by Mwangi’s wife.

In a shocking confession that has also placed the deceased’s wife, Ms Jane Muthoni, at the murder scene, Joseph Kariuki Njuguna alias Karis, gave a blow-by-blow account of Mr Mwangi’s murder.

The 10-page confession was read out in court by State Counsel Catherine Mwaniki on Tuesday when Mr Kariuki pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter before Kiambu High Court Judge Joel Ngugi, in a plea agreement that saw his charges reduced from murder.

Ms Muthoni and Mr Isaac Ng’an’ga were his co-accused in the murder charge.

WELL-PAYING JOB

“In June last year, I received a call from a lady identified as Damaris whom I have known for a long time informing me of a well-paying job,” said Kariuki.

Damaris told him that someone named Njiru would call him later with details about the job. Njiru called a day later and asked to meet him at Tree Shade Hotel in Kimbo, Kahawa, where Kariuki found him in the company of Damaris.

They disclosed to him that the headteacher’s wife — introduced to him only as Mwalimu — was the one behind the execution plot, and that she had made a Sh100,000 down payment.

On November 4, Kariuki and another man known only as Gikuyu met at Texas bar in Kiria-ini where they were joined by Njiru and ‘Mwalimu’, who informed them she had a new plan of poisoning her husband, he said.

On November 5, ‘Mwalimu’ called them with instructions that they meet at Urithi near Ndarugo.

‘Mwalimu’ drove in with her unconscious husband, the court heard.

DROVE TO FOREST

Kariuki and Gikuyu boarded the car which they drove to a forest where Gikuyu put a sisal rope around Mr Mwangi’s neck and removed him from the car.

He says they left ‘Mwalimu’ behind as they took their victim deep into the thicket where they tied his hands, tightened the rope on his neck and hanged him on a tree. He was later found dead.

When they returned where they had left the car, they found ‘Mwalimu’ gone and efforts to trace her so that she could pay the balance of Sh300,000 were unsuccessful since the phone she was using during the deal had been switched off, he said.