Lawyer Calvin Musachi Ngaira, who was allegedly killed by his colleague during a house party in Eldoret in 2019.
A lawyer charged with killing his colleague over a bottle of beer will know his fate on July 28 after the prosecution closed its case after presenting more than 10 witnesses.
During a trial that has dragged on for six years, the court heard that a squabble over a bottle of beer led to a fierce fight during a house party.
It was then that Calvin Musachi Ngaira was allegedly stabbed in the neck with a broken beer glass by his colleague Abel Mogaka.
Prosecution witnesses told the court that Mogaka stabbed Ngaira using the broken bottle, causing fatal injuries.
The incident took place at the home of Roy Barasa, the deceased’s former college mate, who had hosted the party for his friends, who are mainly lawyers.
Ngaira, who had been in legal practice for barely three months after being admitted to the bar, succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at Mediheal Hospital on May 10, 2019.
Lawyer Calvin Musachi Ngaira, who was allegedly killed by his colleague during a house party in Eldoret in 2019.
Barasa had invited more than 10 lawyers whom he had schooled with at the Kenya School of Law to his apartment in the Annex area along the Eldoret–Nakuru highway.
But the merry-making was cut short after a vicious fight broke out between the two lawyers, Directorate of Criminal Investigations officer Sofia Ibrahim Hassan testified before Justice Wananda, who is presiding over the murder trial against Mogaka.
'Uninvited guest'
She told the court that the fight stemmed from a bottle of beer that the accused allegedly served to his cousin, who had accompanied him to the party.
The deceased is said to have confronted Mogaka, questioning who permitted him to serve beer to someone who was not a lawyer.
“The disagreement over the bottle of beer escalated, leading to the fatal fight at the party,” said Inspector Sofia.
Mogaka denied the murder charge and was released on a Sh1 million bond.
“When I went to the scene and interrogated witnesses, I was told the deceased demanded to know who had allowed the accused to serve beer to his cousin,” the officer added.
CCTV footage
The court heard that Mogaka, who was holding a glass of beer in his right hand, stormed out of the house as the deceased followed, kicking and punching him, a sequence captured on CCTV footage played in court.
Mogaka was followed by six people, including his cousin, who was reportedly armed with a rungu, as the fight continued outside the apartment.
It was during this altercation that Ngaira was stabbed.
Inspector Sofia said she recovered from the scene a blood-stained black and white T-shirt belonging to the deceased and broken pieces of glass, which are being used as exhibits in the trial.
More than 10 key witnesses testified against Mogaka, including Senior Crime Investigator Inspector Daniel Kieni from the DCI Nairobi headquarters and former Moi University student Edith Chebet.
In her testimony, Chebet said she witnessed the incident unfold during the party, which she had attended through a mutual friend.
She recounted how the accused aimed the glass bottle he was holding at Ngaira’s neck, causing heavy bleeding and ultimately his death.
“The fight between the accused and the deceased began inside the house following an altercation and later spilled outside,” she said.
Ms Chebet added that after the stabbing, the accused dropped the broken glass to the ground.
“I even took photos of the broken glass with my phone. We had tried to separate them before things escalated,” she said.
In his testimony, Inspector Kieni presented 13 CCTV clips from four cameras that showed how the deceased was fatally stabbed.
The clips were played one after the other, showing the deceased arriving at Sirtui Apartments, where the party was held and how the altercation began.
“The footage shows the deceased throwing kicks at the accused, who backs away. None of the kicks appear to land,” Kieni told the court.
Friends inside the house ran out to break up the fight, but during the commotion, the fatal stabbing occurred.
