• The lawyer shot his son as they got home from church "while holstering his gun"
• A postmortem report indicated that the shooting happened outside the car
Image: FILE
City lawyer Assa Nyakundi, who is suspected of killing his son last month in Muthaiga, has recorded his statement from the hospital, a court was told yesterday.
Investigating officer Godfrey Munene said Nyakundi's statement was recorded last week at The Nairobi Hospital where he is admitted.
The suspect's lawyer, Sam Nyaberi, told the court his client is still receiving treatment but is in a fair condition.
“My client is getting better and might be discharged when he gets well,” Nyaberi said.
Makadara senior principal magistrate Angelo Kithinji directed the matter to be mentioned on April 24 to establish whether Nyakundi can appear in court.
Munene had on April 4 told the court that he had been unable to record a statement from the "incoherent" lawyer.
He said that when he visited Nyakundi in hospital, the lawyer could not speak well.
"I visited the suspect and I can confirm that he is still sick and will need more time to see if I can record his statement," Munene had said.
Nyaberi said, "My client is unwell as his condition keeps on fluctuating. His blood pressure is high and he needs to be in the hospital but I am willing to go with the investigating officer to the hospital to get Nyakundi's statement."
The city lawyer is suspected to have killed his son, Joseph Nyakundi on March 17. He was admitted to The Nairobi Hospital under guard after the shooting.
The son was buried on April 2 at Lang’ata Cemetery.
On March 20, Munene was directed to serve Nyakundi an application seeking to detain him for 14 days to conclude the investigations into the killing.
The magistrate refused to grant the orders as the lawyer had not been served with the application. "The court cannot give orders for detention in the absence of the suspect. He needs to be served with the application to be made aware of it."
The magistrate ordered that Nyakundi must appear in court immediately after he was discharged from the hospital.
Nyakundi was arrested on March 17 and soon after fell ill and taken to The Nairobi Hospital.
"The deceased is his biological son and family members, including his household employees, are potential witnesses. We are apprehensive that if the suspect is released back to his home and normal life upon discharge from the hospital, he may interfere with the witnesses who have not recorded their statements," Munene had told the court.
He said the suspect is a person of high standing in society and is likely to use his influence to interfere with ongoing investigations to his advantage.
(Edited by R.Wamochie)