The long-running case involving the murder of former Kabete Member of Parliament George Muchai has taken a significant step forward after the High Court in Nairobi ruled that four of the suspects must stand trial.
The decision, delivered by Justice Kanyi Kimondo on September 25, 2025, found that the prosecution had established a strong prima facie case against the accused individuals, requiring them to respond to the charges.
Those set to face the defence hearing are Eric Mungera Isabwa, Raphael Kimani Gachii, Mustafa Kimani Anyoni, and Stephen Astiva Lipopo. The four are accused of masterminding and carrying out the brutal killing of Muchai, his two police bodyguards—Constable Samuel Kimathi and Constable Samuel Lekakeny—and his driver, Stephen Ituu Wambugu, in Nairobi’s city centre along Kenyatta Avenue in February 2015.
“This development follows an intensive prosecution, which successfully called 37 witnesses, presenting a blend of direct, circumstantial, and documentary evidence to link the accused to the heinous crime,” the court noted.
Among the prosecution witnesses was a protected taxi driver who placed one of the suspects, Mustafa Kimani Anyoni, at the scene of the murder. The driver also produced a gun safety pin that had been left in his car. It was later confirmed through forensic analysis to be part of the weapon used in the shooting.
The prosecution argued that the killings were not random acts of violence, but had been carefully planned. They pointed to the use of high-powered firearms and the close-range execution of the victims as evidence that the crime had been premeditated.
Autopsy results from government pathologist Dr. Johansen Oduor supported this claim. His findings confirmed that all four victims had been shot at close range, and the injuries were caused by high-velocity firearms.
However, Justice Kimondo declined to comment on related robbery-with-violence charges that are still pending before a magistrate’s court in Nairobi, stating that they remain under separate judicial consideration.
Meanwhile, three of the co-accused—Jane Wanjiru Kamau, Margaret Njeri Wachiuri, and Simon Wambugu Gichamba—were acquitted due to lack of sufficient evidence.
“I enter a finding of not guilty against the 5th, 6th, and 7th accused persons, and they are hereby acquitted,” the judge declared.
The case will now move to the next phase, with the defence hearing scheduled for October 22, 2025. During this stage, the four accused will have an opportunity to respond to the prosecution’s evidence.
At the time of his death, George Muchai was serving his first term as Kabete MP on a Jubilee Party ticket and held the position of deputy secretary-general at the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu). His murder shocked the country and triggered widespread calls for justice, which have remained strong over the years.