The Latest on Lawrence Warunge Murder Trial
Having been found fit to stand trial, Lawrence Warunge was Thursday officially charged with five counts of murder.
The 22-year-old university student appeared virtually before Justice Mary Kasanga where he was charged with killing his father Nicholas Warunge, mother Anne Warunge, brother Christian Njenga, nephew Maxwell Njenga and construction worker James Kinyanjui on the night of January 5-6, 2021.
Warunge entered a not guilty plea. He was set to take plea on Wednesday, but it was pushed to Thursday to allow the prosecution to complete a miscellaneous application that had been filed at the Kiambu Law Courts.
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CENTRAL
Lawrence Warunge, 22, is accused of killing five people, including four of his family members and a farmhand. [File, Standard]
Lawrence Warunge, who is accused of killing his four family members and a farmhand in Kiambaa, Kiambu County, has pleaded not guilty to five murder counts.
His innocence plea comes months after he allegedly confessed to DCI detectives that he killed his parents on January 5, 2021 for neglecting him.
Warunge was arraigned virtually before High Court Judge, Mary Kasango, on Thursday, April 15; two days after the suspect was declared fit to stand trial following a psychiatric test.
Warunge was charged with the murder of five people, including his parents, brother, nephew and a gardener.
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THE STANDARD By
George Njunge |
January 27th 2021 at 00:00:00 GMT +0300
Lawrence Warunge at a Kiambu court during a mention to submit his mental fitness. The court was told that Warunge was unfit to stand trial. [George Njunge, Standard]
Lawrence Warunge, the chief suspect in the murder of his parents and siblings, is not fit to stand trial.
A medical assessment done at Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital shows that Lawrence suffers from induced psychosis, a condition characterised by hallucinations and/or delusions.
It further states that he has a history of smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol.
The prosecution tabled the report yesterday before Kiambu Chief Magistrate Patricia Gichohi and made an application for extension of custodial orders, which the Chief Magistrate granted.
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KENYA
Caskets bearing the remains of four family members killed in Karura, Kiambu County. [George Njunge, Standard]
It was pain and tears as caskets of Nicholas Njoroge, his wife Anne Wanjiku and sons Christian Njenga and Maxwell Njenga were placed side by side.
Speaker after speaker paid glowing tribute to the Njoroges and their two children.
The four family members were murdered in their house in Kiambu County and their son Lawrence Warunge, 22, is the main suspect.
Perhaps the most moving sight at the memorial service was the two surviving daughters, Joyce Njeri and Grace Karagi, who looked lost and shattered.