Juja Man Who Confessed to Killing Estranged Lover Asks Magistrate to Expedite His Sentencing

Evans Karani, the prime suspect in the murder of 25-year-old hotel worker Catherine Nyokabi was on Monday arraigned in a Thika court.

The suspect appeared before Thika Law Courts Magistrate Oscar Wanyaga, who granted an application to detain him for 14 days to allow police to conclude investigations into the gruesome murder.

Karani, who allegedly confessed to homicide detectives that he killed his estranged lover and does not regret the action, asked the magistrate not to delay his sentencing as he is ready to start serving his jail term.

The 38-year-old businessman says he had dated Nyokabi, a mother of one, for some years and recently learned that she was seeing another man, something that his love for her could not allow.

On the fateful day, he invited the deceased for drinks as they solved their differences. They spent part of the evening drinking in his car and when she became intoxicated, he strangled her with his belt.

He then drove to Tola Estate to dispose of the body but his car got stuck in mud near the Bob Harris area, where he abandoned the car and the body. Karani allegedly dismembered the body and tried to cover it with mud so it would be consumed by wild animals.

Speaking to Citizen TV, Nyokabi’s father Gitonga Njogu said his daughter had already introduced Karani to the family but they disapproved of the relationship two weeks ago after learning that the man was married and has five children.

"He came to my home many times and we even know his car. He even visited the deceased's grandmother. When we saw his true standing, Nyokabi had reservations about getting married to him,” said Njogu.

"When she tried to leave him, he just kept following her. It seems he committed the act because he had been rejected."

The case will be mentioned on May 3rd.