Court to deliver ruling on Wanjiru's inquest on August 1

A Nairobi court will on August 1 deliver a ruling in an inquest on whether anyone will be charged over the death of former Olympic marathon champion Samuel Wanjiru.

Milimani chief magistrate Lucas Onyina on Thursday directed parties in the inquest to file written submissions and serve within 30 days.

He will mention the matter on July 7 to confirm compliance.

Onyina said the ruling will be delivered on August 1 by chief magistrate Wendy Micheni. 

Wanjiru died at his residence in Nyahururu on May 15, 2011. He allegedly jumped from the balcony to his death.

In November last year, the lead investigator told an inquest court that no one saw Wanjiru fall from the balcony of his house.

Jacob Kanake told the transferred chief magistrate Wendy Micheni that it is difficult to know what befell Wanjiru because he landed on his falls but had an injury at the back of his head.

Government doctors and pathologists who have testified in the matter believe it is the head injury that caused Wanjiru’s death.

Kananke said no photographs were ever taken of the deceased at the time he fell.

When he arrived at the scene of the crime, he found two police constables.

He observed the scene and found blood on the balcony. Wanjiru had at the time been rushed to Nyahururu government hospital.

Kanake followed suit. At the hospital, the doctor told him Wanjiru was dead.

“I asked him to turn the body around. I checked it for injuries and saw bruises on his hands, legs and back of his head. He did not have any broken limbs,” Kanake said.

The witness then left the hospital and went back to the scene for analysis and to establish whether there could have been other people involved in what had transpired.

“When I got to Wanjiru’s residence, I was surprised to see a woman on the balcony trying to jump. I pleaded with her not to,” Kanake said as he approached the main door of the house only to realise it had been locked with a padlock.

It was Treza Njeri who had locked the door. Treza was Wanjiru’s wife and the woman on the balcony was one Jane Nduta.

Nduta was a bar attendant at a joint Wanjiru used to frequent. She was also his girlfriend according to the officer’s testimony.

On the day Wanjiru met his death, both ladies were in the house. Wanjiru brought Nduta to his residence and an altercation ensued between the two women at the entrance of the bedroom