The Mt Kenya Times 
By Elizabeth Angira
The High Court in Nyamira has acquitted four people charged with the murder of Edward Morema Nyagechi and his wife, Grace Mongina Morema, ruling that the prosecution failed to prove their involvement beyond reasonable doubt.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, November 5, 2026, Lady Justice Wamae T.W. Cherere found that although the prosecution had established that the couple was unlawfully killed, the evidence did not sufficiently connect any of the accused to the murders.
The accused were Ezekiel Mogeni Migiro, Peris Ondara, Dennis Ondara Clement and Peter Njoroge Kirika. They faced two counts of murder contrary to Section 203 as read with Section 204 of the Penal Code over the deaths of Edward and Grace, who were killed at their home in Egetugi Village, Gesima Location, Masaba North Sub-County, Nyamira County, on the night of March 20 and 21, 2023.
The prosecution alleged that the four took part in a planned attack, with each playing a different role. The first accused, Migiro, was linked to an alleged revenge motive stemming from an earlier conviction for stealing USD 2,000 from the couple’s daughter.
The second accused, Peris Ondara, was linked to family and succession disputes over the estate of her late husband, Professor Zachary Mosoti.
The third accused, Dennis Ondara Clement, was linked to telephone-location records that investigators said placed a phone associated with him near the crime scene. The fourth accused, Kirika, was linked to mobile-money transactions involving the couple’s accounts and to CCTV footage showing a masked person withdrawing money from a Co-operative Bank ATM in Limuru.
However, Justice Cherere found significant gaps in the evidence against each of them.
On the first accused, the judge questioned the reliability of the prosecution’s key eyewitness, Sylvia Barongo Nyamai, who had identified him at a police identification parade. The court noted inconsistencies in the identification process and in the circumstances under which the witness saw the visitor at the couple’s home. The judge also found that the alleged revenge motive was not supported by reliable evidence connecting him to the killings.
On the second accused, the court observed that although witnesses testified about family disagreements and alleged threats over the late professor’s estate, the prosecution failed to link those disputes to the murders. There was also no evidence placing Peris at the scene or showing that she communicated with the other accused on the material night.
Regarding Dennis Ondara Clement, the court found that the telephone-location records established the movement of a particular number between Nairobi, Keroka and the Esani area. However, the prosecution did not prove that Dennis was the actual user of the number or that the device was at the exact location of the murders. The judge further found that the firearm, ammunition, pliers and other items recovered from him had not been sufficiently connected to the killings.
In the case of Peter Njoroge Kirika, the court acknowledged that KSh62,000 had been transferred from the couple’s mobile-money accounts to a number registered in the name of Douglas Mungai, and that KSh35,500 was withdrawn from a Co-operative Bank ATM in Limuru on the night of the killings. However, the prosecution failed to establish conclusively that Kirika controlled the number, received the money or made the withdrawal. The court also noted that the person in the ATM footage wore a face mask, making positive identification difficult.
Justice Cherere further faulted the prosecution for failing to call crucial witnesses, including the registered owners of the phone numbers used in the investigation and Stanley Kuria, who allegedly received the handset said to have been borrowed by the fourth accused. Their absence, she noted, left important questions about the ownership, possession and use of the phones unanswered.
On forensic evidence, the court found that DNA analysis established that blood recovered from several items at the scene belonged to the deceased. However, the analysis did not connect any of the four accused to the murders.
The court also rejected the prosecution’s argument that the accused acted with common intention under Section 21 of the Penal Code, finding no evidence that they shared an unlawful purpose or took part in a coordinated plan to kill the couple.
Emphasising that suspicion, however strong, cannot replace the legal requirement of proof beyond reasonable doubt, the judge ruled: “The cumulative circumstantial evidence raised suspicion but did not form a complete chain pointing to the guilt of any accused person.”
She nonetheless expressed deep concern over the brutal killings, noting the immense pain and suffering they caused the family and the wider community, and voiced hope that the actual perpetrators would eventually be identified and brought to justice.
The court accordingly found all four accused not guilty on both counts and ordered their acquittal, directing that they be set at liberty unless otherwise lawfully held. All four were present in court when the judgment was delivered.
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