Short-stay house where Socialite Starlet Wahu died was not licensed; court told

Testifying before Justice Alexander Muteti, the apartment owner, Florence Ngina, admitted that she failed to follow basic check-in procedures when the main suspect, John Matara, booked the room.

Ngina told the court that she neither issued a receipt nor recorded Matara’s identification details at the time of check-in. 

She explained that the suspect had been brought to the apartment by a woman identified as Jane, whom he had approached while searching for a rental with a balcony.

Although the facility offered room service, Ngina conceded that she did not properly verify or monitor the guest during his stay.

The court further heard that Ngina later received a distress call from Jane, who had been alerted by a security guard that the client was hastily leaving the premises with only a towel wrapped around his waist.

Ngina, accompanied by Jane, another woman identified as Charity, and the guard, proceeded to the room Matara had occupied. Finding it locked, she used a spare key to gain entry, where they discovered Wahu’s body lying in a pool of blood.

Police were called to the scene and documented the incident before proceeding to Mbagathi Hospital, where Matara was later arrested. The body was subsequently moved to the mortuary.

Wahu, who is the sister of controversial preacher Victor Kanyari, was found murdered at the South B-based short-stay facility.

John Matara remains the prime suspect in the case, with the prosecution alleging that he fatally attacked her while they were in the apartment.

The trial is now nearing conclusion, with the final witness expected to testify on April 30, 2026.