The man accused of killing socialite Scarlet Wahu Mwangi in South B, Nairobi Friday formally denied having committed the offence.
John Matara appeared virtually before High Court Judge Kanyi Kimondo on Friday when he was charged with murder.
Matara’s lawyer Samuel Ayora told the court he will be filing a bail application.
The prosecution, however, said they would be filing an affidavit in opposition to the bail or bond application.
Justice Kimondo directed that the accused be held at the Nairobi Remand Area pending the application hearing.
The matter will be mentioned on February 26, when the court will also determine whether Matara will be released on the terms.
The charges come after 28 days of detention as the Directorate of Criminal Proceedings concluded investigations.
Last week, the State obtained orders to hold him for seven days which lapsed Friday, February 2.
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They said they wanted to cover more areas of investigation which the Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions wanted probed before charging Matara.
Wahu’s body was discovered on January 3, 2024, at a short-term rental in South B, where she had checked in with Matara.
Matara had hired a short-term stay apartment in the area and took Wahu who he met on a dating site into the house.
Her body was discovered in a pool of blood in the apartment.
Matara came to the limelight after Wahu’s body was found in an apartment they had both booked on January 3.
Detectives want women who may have been victims of assault and extortion by the suspect to provide information for further probe.
A team has been set up at the Regional Criminal Investigations Office in Nairobi to receive the complaints linked to the suspect.
Wahu’s body was discovered on January 4 morning at the fourth floor of an Airbnb in Nairobi’s South B, after the watchman reported seeing the male suspect flee with bloodstained clothes.
The owner of the premises who had let it out to Wahu and Matara for a night used a spare key to unlock the house, which had been locked from the outside, only to stumble on the horrifying scene of the deceased’s body sprawled on the floor.
Matara also sent a message to the room owner saying there was something bad there.
Makadara detectives who were alerted rushed to the scene to find the young woman’s body soaked in a pool of flood, lying midway from the bed towards the main door an indication of an attempt and struggle to call for help.
Examination of the body revealed a stab wound on the head near the left ear, a deep cut on the right thigh, and a human bite on the left arm.
