The trial on the Kiambu murders commenced today as Lawrence Simon Warunge has pleaded not guilty to five counts of murder before the High Court in Kiambu after he was declared fit to take the plea.

Warunge who is at a remand in Nairobi, virtually appeared before Justice Mary Kasango on Thursday and denied that he murdered his father Nicholas Njoroge Warunge, mother Annie Wanjiku, his brother Christian Njenga, nephew Maxwell Njenga and a construction worker James Kinyanjui at their home in Karura, Kiambu county in January this year.

His girlfriend Sarah Muthoni, who was also a suspect, was released in January under Section 87 (a), and turned into a state witness.

The defense team requested that the matter be mentioned on May 11, 2021 for a pretrial to ascertain whether they have been furnished with all witness statements and the prosecution did not object.

Warunge confessed to detectives after his arrest. He led police to a residence in Mai Mahiu area where they recovered the killer weapon—a kitchen knife, clothes, shoes, and a piece of paper. He had thrown the exhibits in a pit latrine.

He also took police to an open field in the same area where he said he burnt some of the evidence. The accused had claimed in his confession that he chose to eliminate the four members of his nuclear family because they were talking ill of him behind his back.

He said he had initially planned to kill everyone including his two surviving sisters who were in school at the time of the murder. He said his plans were foiled when the two returned to school on January 5, the day he allegedly committed the murder.