Pamela Atieno, alias Scovian Maya, a three-year-old girl killed in Nairobi’s Lucky Summer estate in April 2024, was found dumped naked with a swollen forehead behind a neighbouring building, a court heard September 24.
Witness Steven Maingi said he had gone behind the house to hang their carpet when he saw the body of a child.
“I rushed to my uncle’s house and informed him about the discovery. He called the chief who called the police. By the time police arrived, many people had gathered around the scene,” Maingi said.
As police officers picked up the body, Maingi said he saw the face of the girl and immediately recalled she was the child he often sees playing on the balcony of the house opposite their building.
“She was almost the same age as the child of the caretaker of that building and I could see them playing on the balcony where the caretaker lived. I didn’t know her name,” he said.
He was testifying in a case where former Gor Mahia and Harambee Stars football star Collins Okoth alias Gatusso has been charged alongside Sylvia Aoko with the murder of Maya.
The offence was allegedly committed on the night of April 21, into the morning of April 22, at Kwetu Apartments in Sinai, Lucky Summer estate within Nairobi. Both Gatusso and Aoko have pleaded not guilty.
They were first arrested in May 2024 and had been remanded until Wednesday, September 17 when Justice Alexander Muteti ruled they can be admitted to bond.
The state had opposed the release of the accused on bond citing the likelihood of interfering with witnesses.
However, after three first crucial witnesses testified in May and in July, the judge stated that the prosecution did not present enough grounds to deny the release of the accused on bond.
“The accused persons have been admitted to a Sh1 million bond each, with one surety of the same amount,” Justice Muteti ruled.
The court however barred the two from setting foot in Lucky Summer. Justice Muteti also warned the accused not to contact any of the witnesses in the case, noting that if they do so, the bond will be cancelled.
The court has also ordered the two to provide details of their fixed abodes, obtain a letter from the area chief, and deposit their passports in court, if any.
Aoko has already met the bond terms and is out of custody while Gatusso remains remanded at the Industrial Area Remand Prison.
When she testified on May 14, 2025, Beatrice Awuor, the mother of the slain minor, denied ever having any relationship with Gattuso.
Awuor told the court that they only lived in the same plot but had no romantic or friendship relationship. She said they occasionally exchanged pleasantries whenever they bumped into each other.
“The first accused (Gatusso) was my neighbour. We lived in the same plot and on the same second floor, but I did not know him well. We only met sometimes on the stairs and would greet each other,” Awuor said.
She however admitted that her long-time friend, who is the second accused in the murder case, Aoko, with whom she lived with, had told her that Gatusso was eyeing her and had approached her for a romantic relationship.
She also told the court that she never at any time found Gatusso in the house she shared with Aoko.
Earlier on Tuesday, Nicholas Onyango, a vendor who sold eggs and smokies outside a popular club in the estate at night told the court he was with Awuor that fateful night until about 5 am when each left for their respective houses.
Awuor sold nuts and coffee outside the Game Changers club where Onyango also did his business.
Onyango said they left their business spot together and walked for about five minutes up to the Kemri area from where they took different directions to their houses.
He said they used to live with Awuor in the same plot for about four months before she moved to a different plot where she lived with her daughter and a friend.
When he woke up at about 11 am, Onyango said there was tension in the area with news filtering that a child had been found murdered and that the child belonged to the girl who sells nuts and coffee.
A total of five witnesses have already testified with the prosecution expected to call another five witnesses before the state closes its case. Hearing resumes on October 23.
