Suspect in Belgian's murder case freed on bail
Lucy Waithera Njuguna, who charged with the murder of Belgian national Dysseller Mireille Lesoipa, in a Nairobi court on February 27, 2020. PHOTO | RICHARD MUNGUTI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
Ms Njuguna is accused of killing the wealthy Belgian woman between December 11, 2018 and July 15, 2019
During her arrest, Ms Njuguna was found with a copy of Ms Lesoipa’s death certificate and her assorted bank cards.
A Nairobi court has set free a woman who has been detained for 105 days over the death of a Belgian national.
Lucy Waithera Njuguna, who is charged alongside Nakuru-based advocate John Hari Gakinya, was released on a cash bail of Sh200,000.
Gakinya was also released on the same bail terms.
High Court Judge Daniel Ogembo concurred with defence lawyers that there were, “no compelling reasons advanced by the director of public prosecutions to deny the suspects bail.”
The court directed the two to deposit their travel documents in bond and warned of dire consequences should they interfere with prosecution witnesses.
The decision was delivered through Skype. Waithera and Gakinya followed the court session from Lang’ata Women's Prison and Industrial Area Prison Remand.
The suspects could not be produced in court due to policies established to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The two suspects will be tried jointly over the disappearance and murder Dysseleer Mireille Lesoipa alias Wa Samburu.
Ms Njuguna is accused of killing the wealthy Belgian woman between December 11, 2018 and July 15, 2019
During her arrest, Ms Njuguna was found with a copy of Ms Lesoipa’s death certificate and her assorted bank cards.
She was also found in possession of Ms Lesoipa’s ATM cards, original passport with immigration stamps indicating that she had travelled to India on December 12, 2018 and came to Kenya on June 30, 2019.
She is said to have been a close friend to Ms Lesoipa prior to her disappearance.
Ms Njunguna is suspected to have plotted her murder, faked a death certificate and initiated a succession process of Ms Lesoipa’s Sh100 million estate.
She allegedly forged a death certificate and claimed that Ms Lesoipa died of HIV/Aids. The fake death certificate was used in filing of estate succession proceedings at the High Court in Nakuru.
Ms Lesoipa lived in Nakuru before disappearing from her residence in Blankets estate, Mwariki area.
She shot to media headlines after falling in love with a Samburu man and they solemnized their marriage in 1995. The union later collapsed and the couple divorced in 2004.
Following the divorce the two later engaged in court battles involving ownership of a property situated in Maralal.
