Lawyer's murder: Accused aimed broken beer bottle on victims neck, court told

The witness said she took photos and videos of the incident using her mobile phone

by BY MATHEWS NDANYI

Rift-valley11 April 2025 - 12:53

In Summary

An eye witness Edith Chebet who is a former Moi University student testified that she was present at the party and saw the entire incident that led to fighting between the two lawyers on the fateful day
She said the fight started from inside the house and extended outside, where the stabbing occurred

***State Counsel Brenda Oduor leads witness Edith Chebet (R) during cross-examination at the High Court in Eldoret/ MATHEWS NDANYI***

The High Court in Eldoret has been told how a lawyer used a broken beer bottle to stab his colleague leading to death during a party.

An eye witness Edith Chebet, who is a former Moi University student, said she was present at the party and saw how the fight between the two lawyers started.

She testified before Justice Reuben Wananda, who is hearing a murder case against lawyer Abel Mogaka, who is accused of killing his colleague, Calvin Ngaira.

Chebet recounted how the accused aimed a glass of beer bottle that he was carrying in his right hand at the victim's neck, resulting in his death.

She said the fight started from inside the house and extended outside, where the stabbing occurred.

Chebet told the court that she attended the house party in the company of the victim alongside 10 other people.

"The fight between the two started right inside the house following an altercation and extended outside. I remember very well that Mogaka was the one who started the commotion ," she said as she fought back tears.

Mogaka is charged with the murder of Calvin's Musachi Ngaira at Annex estate located along the Eldoret-Nakuru Highway in Uasin Gishu County.

He has denied the offense, which he is said to have committed on May 18, 2019.

He is out on a Sh1 million bond as the hearing of the case continues.

So far, 10 witnesses have testified in the case and the prosecution says it will present the investigating officer as the final witness when the case comes up for the next hearing again on June 11.

Yesterday the court was told that that after stabbing the victim on the neck the suspect dropped the bear bottle on the ground.

“I saw him drop it almost immediately after the stabbing him," she said.

The witness said she took photos and videos of the incident using her mobile phone.

“My efforts to separate the two were futile. They overpowered me," Chebet said.

During the last hearing a cyber crime officer from the DCI displayed before the court a CCTV footage showing how the incident happened.

Inspector Daniel Kieni played the CCTV footage before justice Robert Wananda, who is hearing a murder case against Lawyer Abel Mogaka.

The party had been hosted by a different lawyer at his house.

Ngaira had practised for barely three months in Eldoret town before he died. He was the only son to Hill School Primary School principal Hesborn Ngaira.

Kieni dismissed claims by the defense that the deceased was the aggressor during the confrontation and also told the court that the accused used force to stab him.

“The CCTV footage clearly shows the accused person holding something in his right hand while running after the slain lawyer and stabbing him on the left side of his neck even after he [deceased] had retreated from the fight,” said Kieni.

After the incident, Ngaira was rushed to Mediheal Hospital, about three kilometres from the party, but he later succumbed to the injuries.

Kieni said he retrieved the footage at the scene while in the company of the investigating officer sergeant Sophia Hassan who is based at Langas police station in Eldoret.

The footage shows incident happened between 5:08 pm and 5:15 pm on May 18, 2019.

Brenda Oduor, who is leading the prosecution, filed an application to recall Chebet to shed some light on the events.

Chebet and the investigating officer will close the prosecution's case.