A 28-year-old woman, Winfred Mueni, has been charged with the unintentional killing of her 30-year-old lover, Titus Njoroge Kimani, in circumstances that unfolded while they were engaging in intimate activities within her house.

Winfred Mueni is facing charges of manslaughter under Section 202 read together with Section 205 of the Penal Code, where she is suspected of causing the death of Titus Njoroge Kimani in the Baba Dogo neighborhood of Ruaraka on September 22, 2023.

Mueni is accused of ending Kimani’s life when he lost consciousness and fell, succumbing while reaching climax during their intimate encounter. Despite her attempts to rush him to the hospital, he was declared dead upon arrival.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) is charging Mueni as the “last person seen with the deceased” before his death. This legal perspective originates from the Nigerian High Court in the case of Stephen Haruna and Attorney General (2012).

The decision stems from the Abuja High Court, which convicted the suspect on October 6, 2008, for causing a catastrophe. In that case, Haruna, a caretaker in the deceased’s residence, was found guilty of his murder based on being the only person in the residence at the time of the landlord’s death.

The DPP believes that Mueni should be charged on similar grounds, stating that her case parallels that of Haruna, even though there is no direct evidence linking her to the death, especially during their intimate act.

The prosecution has listed the used condom found beside the bed and the autopsy report as the main evidence against Mueni, and her husband is listed as a witness against her.

This case, under investigation for over a month, has caused a conflict between the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the ODPP. After an in-depth investigation, the DCI had recommended open inquests to determine how Kimani died, as there was no evidence directly linking anyone to the death.

For instance, Kimani’s body had no injuries when friends and relatives found him in bed shortly after Mueni called them following the intense intimate session at 2 a.m.

DCI investigators, who immediately went to Kimani’s house after being informed by the hospital of his death, found everything in order at the residence. There were a bed, chairs, and a kitchen area, with no signs of disturbance.

However, the ODPP criticized the DCI for not collecting samples from the deceased’s body to be examined to determine precisely what caused Kimani’s death. Hence, it recommended that Mueni be charged with unintentional manslaughter.

Investigators familiar with the case, speaking on condition of anonymity, as they are not authorized to speak to the media, argue that there was no need to collect samples because the autopsy report had already identified the cause of Kimani’s death.

Dr. Peter Ndegwa, the pathologist who conducted the autopsy at the morgue of the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH), found that Kimani died from a head injury caused by a blunt object.

Mueni and Kimani had separated the previous night. She had gone to a bar to find her husband and found him with others planning a burial. The meeting ended at 7 p.m., and her husband left for home, leaving Mueni drinking with friends. That’s when her lover arrived, and they continued drinking together.

Later at 9 a.m., both left, and Mueni went home to find her husband asleep. They slept, woke up at noon, had breakfast, and her husband left for the burial in Limuru, Kiambu County.

Mueni then left home at 1 a.m. to visit her lover for an intimate encounter. The suspect, who works in a salon, has been in the marriage for two years but has been having an extramarital affair with Kimani.

Outside the house, she met Kimani’s elder brother and uncle, exchanged greetings briefly, then entered the deceased’s house.

Kimani left to buy a pack of condoms, returned, and they started their intimate act. Unfortunately, according to Mueni’s account to the DCI, when Kimani was reaching climax, he began experiencing breathing difficulties, coughing, and losing strength while lying on her.

She stated that he continued to lose consciousness even more, fainted, hit his head on the bed frame, and lost consciousness. Mueni rushed out of the house screaming and calling Kimani’s relatives, who found him unconscious and naked.

He was rushed to the hospital, where he was declared dead, and Kimani’s relatives escorted Mueni to the Ruaraka police station, where she was arrested.

She was brought to the Makadara Court on November 10, where she denied the charges before Chief Magistrate Hellen Okwani. She was released on bail of KES 500,000 with a surety of a similar amount.

The case will be mentioned on February 22 and will begin hearing on May 30, 2024.