A 37-year old man accused of murdering his girlfriend by cutting her into pieces and burning the remains in Eldoret has been put on his defence by the High Court.
Justice Reuben Nyakundi ruled that David Siloba had a case to answer over the killing of 25-year-old Fiona Kisuya on February 24, 2019, at Kapsoya Estate in Eldoret.
The motive was not immediately established and the two had seemed to be calm as they shared a beer on the night of the killing, the bar attendant said.
Justice Nyakundi said the evidence presented by the prosecution was sufficient to place the accused person on his defence for the killing of Kisuya.
“Mr Siloba, I have found you have a case to answer and consequently, you will be put on your defence. You will be given the options of giving sworn or unsworn evidence, or the third option, you just keep quiet and leave the court to give its verdict,” Nyakundi said.
The accused denied the murder charge when he appeared before then presiding judge Reuben Githinji.
Police reported a panga and knife were used to kill the woman. Her body parts were stuffed into a water tank and set on fire.
The ruling has been awaited for five years after State Counsel Mark Mugun closed the prosecution case in which 13 witnesses testified.
Among the witnesses was Haroun Kugat, a neighbour and close friend of the accused, and DCI officers.
Siloba lived in the US before suddenly returning to Kenya and neither of his parents, who work in the US, have ever attended a hearing.
Siloba has been in custody throughout the hearing.
During the hearing, Kurgat recounted how the accused went to his house in the morning after the killing.
Kurgat said he was preparing breakfast and Siloba asked him to come out because he had an emergency to discuss.
“Siloba then told me that he had killed his girlfriend Fiona and asked me to help him to dispose of the body,” Kurgat said.
On entering Siloba's house, Kurgat said that he was shocked to see the body parts stuffed in a water tank. He immediately headed back to his house where he told his girlfriend what he had seen.
Kurgat immediately called a police officer and informed him of the killing. But before the police arrived, Kurgat said, Siloba had set ablaze the body parts in the water tank.
He said the suspect then went to the nearby shopping centre as the fire consumed the body.
A bar attendant, Collins Cheruiyot, told the court that the previous evening he had served the Siloba and his girlfriend with a drink before they left for home.
“I served them with one beer which they shared before leaving and they were quiet and did not appear to have issues,” Cheruiyot said.
He was informed later that Siloba had killed the woman.
The judge directed the accused be returned to court on June 21st for the defence hearing.
(Edited by V. Graham)