City park murder: 'I was not making love to my aunt,' nephew says

Piece by: Geoffrey Mbuthia
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The nephew of a businesswoman shot dead by policemen at City Park last year has told the HIgh Court he was not making love to his aunt when she was killed.

Janet Waiyaki, 41, was shot dead at City Park, Nairobi, in May last year. She was with her nephew Bernard Chege, 27, who sustained injuries. Chege gave his testimony yesterday and said he learned of his alleged affair with his aunt through the media.

Asked why Janet’s underwear and other inner clothing’s were found in the car, Chege could not explain. At first, he said he could not remember, but after a little prodding by the defence lawyers, all he could say was the clothes did belong to Janet.

A day before Janet was killed, the two spent a whole day together. Janet called Chege and asked him to come for her. Chege picked her up from her home in Donholm and they proceeded to Pangani shopping centre. They bought miraa and began to chew with a group of friends.

Asked what they were doing the whole night, Chege laughed and said “we were just chewing Miraa..’ They then left the area in the wee hours of the morning with another friend by the name Koome and proceeded to the Great Rift Valley Viewpoint enroute to Naivasha. They arrived at around 8 am. Chege said they wanted to view the sunrise from the escarpments, take photos at the viewpoint and enjoy the moment.

It was however too cloudy. Koome was the one who fueled the car Chege was using. When they left View Park, Chege said he was to take Janet home but she declined. Instead she said they head to City Park. Chege agreed and they drove back to Nairobi and got to the park at about 9am. He told the court he did not find it unusual that a mother of three would spend the night away with him chewing miraa.

Upon arrival at City Park, Chege felt exhausted. He parked the car and locked the doors. His windows were tinted. When he was just about to doze off, he had loud bangs on both sides of the Toyota fielder. He woke up and saw a gun.

“I got scared and switched on the car’s engine and began to drive off. But even before I could escape, the area was sprayed with bullets,” he said. Asked why he was escaping, he said, “that was just my first reaction.” “Are you sure you did not drive off because you were guilty of committing incest?” “That is not true,” he said.

“Then what do you have to say about the inner clothing’s found in that vehicle?” asked defense lawyer Ham Lagat. “They are a woman’s clothing”…”belonging to who?” “To Janet I presume,” said Chege. Chege denied claims that officers approached him asking him to open the car doors. He said while at the scene of crime, he did not see officer’s just three men. He also said he did not know that the area had been cordoned off due to a possible terror attack.

“After the gunfire, I realised I had been shot at. The bullet hit me on my right arm and back. I tried to ask the people around to or call an ambulance but none did,” he said.

It was later that another police van drove in and a lady officer approached the scene of crime. He found Chege bleeding profusely. Chege asked the officer to hand him the sweater at the back sit so as to put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. Immediately she handed him the sweater, the officer looked at Janet and tried to wake her up. “All I remember her saying is “Na huyu ako na sisi kweli,” said Chege.

The officer then helped Chege get out of the car and took him to Avenue hospital where he was treated. Janet was left in the car at City Park.

Chege’s mother Faith Wangeci who also testified and said she was disgusted and ashamed when she heard of reports that her son was found naked with his aunt in her car. She said the OCS at Parklands told her that the two were shot at because their car looked suspicious and that Chege and Janet refused to cooperate with officers.

She said Janet and Chege were friends and that the deceased was a close aunt to her three children. Wangeci was calm and composed until the defense implied that his son refused to cooperate with officers because he had committed incest. She became defensive and agitated and the prosecutor had to whisper “calm down’

She said Chege lives with her and helps her in her businesses and she knew the company he kept. Chege 27, studied at Gaichanjiru high school in Murang’a. At 18 years he got admitted to Strathmore University for BCOM but never completed his studies. He said he put his studies on hold after he got a job with SGR Company. Even after the job came to an end, he never resumed classes.