A mystery of a girlfriend and a string of denials emerged during the Friday defence hearing of the robbery with violence against Erick Muyera Isabwa, the main suspect in the murder of Kabete MP George Muchai.

Isabwa, also known as chairman, denied having any romantic relationship with his co-accused, Jane Wanjiru, despite the prosecution’s earlier claims that the two were involved in an affair.

The prosecution had put forward evidence suggesting that Isabwa and Wanjiru were living together at a rental house in Kinoo 87 Kiuru when he was arrested in connection with Muchai’s brutal murder that happened opposite Nairobi’s General Post Office (GPO) in February 2015.  

However, Isabwa denied ever knowing or communicating with any of his co-accused, including Wanjiru, who has been linked to the crime in several ways. 

“I never knew the accused persons before, nor did I meet or communicate with them before my arrest. I saw them for the first time in court,” Isabwa told the court, casting doubt on the prosecution’s narrative.

READ: Why Kabete MP George Muchai was killed

“I challenge the prosecution’s claim that I had any romantic relationship with Jane Wanjiru. This is simply untrue.”

In the case, Isabwa is charged alongside his alleged girlfriend Wanjiru and five others.

Isabwa’s other co-accused persons are Raphael Kimani, Mustapha Kimani, Stephen Astiva, Margaret Njeri and Simon Wambugu. 

The suspects face 10 counts of robbery with violence, as well as murder. 

Adding further confusion to the case, Isabwa also denied being arrested in the same house as Wanjiru, where police had allegedly recovered critical evidence tied to the murder of the former MP, his driver, and two aides.

Among the items allegedly recovered were a G3 rifle, a blue bag, a black hooded mask and several other objects in the house in Kinoo. 

Isabwa dismissed these claims, insisting that he had never seen or possessed any of the items in question, including the rifle, which was purportedly hidden in a golf bag.

“I have never seen the G3 rifle, nor the blue bag or the black hooded mask. Those items were not found in my possession,” Isabwa insisted, challenging the validity of the evidence presented by the prosecution.

“It is all a fabrication. I had nothing to do with those items.”

The prosecution had earlier presented the testimony of 36 witnesses, including police officers, who claimed that Isabwa was involved in a series of robberies, which allegedly occurred five hours before the murder of Muchai.

Severe beatings

Sergeant Moses Otiu Opiyo testified before the court that Muchai, a former Confederation of Trade Unions (Cotu) deputy secretary general, along with his two bodyguards and a personal driver, were shot dead in an open-range attack by a marksman identified in court as Eric Isabwa, alias Chairman.

Opiyo further testified that police recovered a stolen G3 rifle and a Ceska pistol, which were taken from Muchai’s bodyguard at the residences of Isabwa’s wife, Wanjiru, and Kimani alias Butcher, a co-accused in the case.

Six victims of robbery incidents, two of whom were sisters, Gladys Waithera and Irene Muthoni also testified in the case recalling how they were carjacked around 10:30pm on February 6, 2015, before Muchai was killed a few hours later.

Waithera, a finance advisor with an insurance company, testified that she and her sister were coming from a garage in the Dagoretti area when they noticed another vehicle following them from behind.

ALSO READ: Suspect in former Kabete MP Muchai murder case denies robbery charges

During an identification parade at Kamukunji police station, Waithera identified three of Isabwa’s co-accused but not him.

Isabwa rejected the witnesses’ statements, maintaining his innocence and denying any involvement in the robberies or the murder of Muchai.

“I was never involved in any of the robberies or the murder of George Muchai,” Isabwa declared, dismissing the testimonies of prosecution witnesses as false or misleading.   

He sought to be acquitted arguing that the charges against him were based on faulty evidence and wrongful assumptions.

“I was arrested and charged with robbery with violence nine years ago, and I would like to prove my innocence before this court,” Isabwa told the court.

Isabwa also recounted his arrest on February 15, 2015, at Marikiti market, where he had been selling tomatoes.  

According to Isabwa, plainclothes officers arrived at the market and although he was accustomed to arrests, this particular encounter turned violent.  

“The plainclothes officers came to where I was, and since I was used to their arrest, I thought it was normal like before. But this time they arrested me amid severe beatings, in which they injured my left arm, joint and the thumb on my right hand,” Isabwa told the court, recounting the violent nature of the arrest.

Isabwa testified that after being taken to Central Police Station, he was booked without being told the reasons for his arrest.

He also revealed that around 3pm that same day, an identity parade was conducted, during which one of the complainants allegedly identified him as one of the robbers. 

He claimed that the individual who pointed him out in the parade had never appeared in court.

He denied being arrested at Kinoo, as indicated in the prosecution’s evidence and argued that the arresting officers had lied about the location.

“I was arrested at Marikiti market, not at Kinoo as the inventory says,” Isabwa said, directly contradicting the police testimony that placed his arrest at Kinoo 87 Kiuru.