Six individuals charged with the murder of former Juja Member of Parliament George Thuo in 2013 have been found guilty and convicted. Paul Wainaina Boiyo, Christopher Lumbasio Andika, Andrew Karanja Wainaina, Samuel Kuria Ngugi, Esther Ndinda Mulinge, and Ruth Vanessa Irungu will now await their sentencing after having been found culpable by Justice Roselyne Korir.
The court ruled that the prosecution successfully presented its case against the six defendants. Consequently, their bail has been revoked, as they were previously out on cash bail.
According to the court’s findings, Thuo’s death resulted from poisoning after consuming a drink at Porkies club in Thika. Traces of pesticide were discovered in his body, supporting the prosecution’s assertion that he was poisoned at the club and not elsewhere.
The court highlighted that the first, second, third, and fourth accused individuals were in close proximity to the MP on the day in question, with no evidence indicating their departure from the table. This proximity presented them with the opportunity to tamper with Thuo’s drink.
The court dismissed the arguments presented by the sixth defendant, Vanessa Irungu, who claimed to have bought the MP a drink as a gesture of friendship. The court questioned the genuineness of her actions, suggesting that her hug towards the MP may have been insincere, akin to a “Judas hug” or “kikulacho kinguoni mwako.”
Paul Wainaina Boiyo, the owner of Club Porkies, where the incident occurred, and Christopher Lumbasio Andika, a friend of the late Thuo, were among those found guilty. Esther Ndinda Mulinge, the waitress who served Thuo, and Ruth Vanessa Irungu, who purchased a beer for Thuo before his death, were also convicted.
