A businessman accused of killing his wife in their Kahawa Sukari estate house has been released on Sh5 million bond.
Justice Christine Meoli of the High Court in Kiambu on Thursday also ordered Lyko Osuri to keep away from witnesses and to attend all mentions of the case.
Osuri has denied murdering his wife Beryl Adhiambo Ouma, a clinical officer, on February 21 at their Kahawa Sukari home.
Beryl's family had opposed bail application on the grounds that he is likely to interfere with witnesses since most of them are his relatives.
Lawyer Cliff Ombeta, for the accused, said Osuri is a Kenyan and will comply with all conditions given by the court. He is also not a flight risk, he added.
The deceased's family was also unhappy with chief government pathologist Johansen Oduor for allegedly interfering with witnesses. He also a cousin of the accused, the family said in an affidavit filed by Beryl's father Douglas Ouma Nyakach through lawyer Evans Ondieki.
The family claimed that immediately after the murder, Oduor advised the Osuri's parents to remove the body from the crime scene (house) to the hospital and tried to persuade the hospital to lie about the death of the 28-year-old.
Beryl is said to have been killed after hours of beating. The body was taken to Neema Uhai Hospital in the area.
Nyakach said the accused's parents, jointly with other relatives, wanted to cover up the murder by physically carrying the body from the third floor, the scene of the murder, to the ground floor and later to the hospital.
He said the hospital reception refused to admit the body since Beryl was already dead.
"The accused is very forceful, arrogant and is likely to violently interfere with the witnesses," Nyakach, who is also a former senior chief, said.
The affidavit described the accused as a person predisposed to violence and "there is a real likelihood that he will threaten, harass, intimidate and even kill the witnesses".
Nyakach claimed there is overwhelming evidence the accused manually strangled his daughter.
He said the relationship between the accused and potential witnesses puts him in a position of influence.
"There is legitimate anxiety about the impact the accused person might have on such witnesses if is released pending trial," Nyakach said, adding that pre-trial detention will preserve public order.
Nyakach said the accused, who married his daughter in October 2017, has previous assault cases and was repatriated from Qatar where he used to work.
A mental examination at Mathare Mental Hospital declared Osuri fit to stand trial.
Beryl had two miscarriages, the last one about two weeks before her death.
On the day of her murder, neighbours reported hearing screams from the house.
“We banged the door in an attempt to open it but it was locked from inside. When one of us asked what was happening, the lady who was screaming responded saying they’ll talk”.
Nyakach said that his daughter sent him three messages asking him to call her back at around 4am, but when he called, the calls were unanswered.
“I didn’t see the texts immediately, but when I called back, she did not pick. A few minutes later, her husband called to say they had an altercation,” Nyakach said.
He said that he had just taken Beryl to a nearby hospital for treatment but records indicated that she was dead by the time she was brought to the institution.
“Her husband is a very violent man and even last year in December, we had a family meeting to solve it (problem). Clearly, he never stopped,” Beryl's brother Mark Ouma told the investigators.
According to the police reports from the hospital where Beryl was taken, she died after being hit with a blunt object. A conclusive postmortem is yet to be carried out.
Ruiru police said the accused regretted assaulting his wife. He claimed to have used a belt to beat his wife.
