An altercation over a bottle of beer degenerated into a vicious fight at a party during which lawyer Calvin Ngaira was allegedly murdered by his colleague, the High Court in Eldoret has been told.
The deceased was the only son of Hesbon Ngaira, the principal of Hill School Primary School in Eldoret.
Barasa had invited more than 10 lawyers he had schooled with at the Kenya School of Law to his apartment located at Annex area along the Eldoret-Nakuru highway for a house party.
The merry-making was, however, cut short after a vicious fight ensued between the two lawyers.
DCI officer Sofia Hassan, who is the investigator, made the revelations when she testified before Justice John Wananda who is hearing the murder case against lawyer Mogaka.
She told the court that the fight stemmed from a disagreement over bottle of beer, which the accused is said to have served his cousin who had accompanied him to the party.
The deceased sought to know from Mogaka who gave him the permission to serve the beer to his cousin, who it later emerged was not a lawyer.
“The differences over the bottle of beer escalated, leading to the fight at the party,” Hassan said.
Mogaka has denied the murder charge and was released on a Sh1 million bond. Ngaira, who had practised for barely three months after joining the bar, succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at Mediheal Hospital.
"When I went to the scene and interrogated witnesses, the deceased is said to have demanded to know from his colleague the person who gave him permission to give his cousin a bottle of beer," Hassan said.
The court heard that Mogaka, who was holding a glass of beer in his right hand, stormed out of the house party as the deceased followed him with kicks and blows, as captured in the CCTV footage that was played in court.
Mogaka was followed out by a group of six people, among them his cousin, who was armed with a rungu as the fight escalated outside the house.
It’s during the fight outside the house that Ngaira was stabbed.
Inspector Hassan said she retrieved 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 against the accused person in the murder trial.
More than 10 key witnesses gave their evidence against Mogaka, among them senior crime investigator Inspector Daniel Kieni from the DCI Nairobi headquarters and former Moi University student Edith Chebet.
Chebet told the court that she witnessed the incident as it unfolded during the house party where she had also been invited by a friend.
She narrated how the accused aimed the glass he was carrying in his right hand at Ngaira’s neck, leaving him bleeding profusely and resulting in his death.
The former Moi University student said the fight between Mogaka and Ngaira began in the house where they were merrymaking.
"The fight between the accused and the deceased started right inside the house following an altercation and extended outside for some time,” Chebet said.
The court heard that after stabbing the victim in the neck, Mogaka dropped the broken glass on the ground. "I even took photos of the pieces of glass using my mobile phone. We had tried to separate the two before things got worse," Chebet said.
In his evidence, Kieni displayed 13 clips from four CCTV cameras showing how the deceased lawyer was fatally stabbed in his neck by the accused person.
The clips were played one after the other, showing the deceased entering the apartments where the party was to be held and how an altercation arose, leading to the incident that claimed Ngaira’s life.
The deceased is seen throwing kicks at the accused, who tries to evade by moving back. However, none of the kicks land on him.
Friends in the house run out and attempt to stop the fight, but it is during the commotion that Ngaira is stabbed.
Justice Wananda directed that the case be mentioned on July 28, 2025.
