72-year-old man charged in plot to murder wife, children over a land dispute

In the case that reads like a script from a horror movie, the farmer and his daughter based in the US hired two hitmen and agreed on a Ksh.2M fee to eliminate the wife, three sons, and a daughter.

But as fate would have it, the killers, after pocketing Ksh.1.7m, approached the victims and revealed the murder plan before police were called in and arrested the suspect and his accomplice.

In the case, Antony Muya, who is the main suspect, is charged together with his friend Charles Muraya with a conspiracy to murder.

The two are charged with conspiring to murder his estranged wife Rose Njeri Muya on various dates between March 1st and May 2nd, 2024, along with others who are not in court.

The two, who appeared before Naivasha Principal Magistrate Wilson Rading, were also charged with planning to murder Antony Mwaura, Martin Muya, Alex Muya, and Oprah Muya.

The court has already issued an arrest warrant for two more suspects, both of whom are based in the United States and allegedly sponsored the planned elimination of the five.

The State Counsel, Lilian Mogoi, told the court that they were seeking to arrest more suspects over the case but planned to turn the second accused into a State witness.

She told the court that after going through the statements of Muraya, the state had decided to turn him into a state witness.

The victims, through their lawyer, Mbugua Macharia, however, objected to this, noting that the second accused played a critical role in the planned murders.

The suspects’ lawyer Edwin Njagi however termed the charges as trumped up after the main suspect parted ways with his wife over 20 years ago.

He said the whole issue revolves around the ownership of a parcel of land and they shall prove to the court that the accused have been set up.

In this case, Muya, with the help of his daughter and son-in-law based in the US, hired the killers to help get rid of the family members so that they could take over the prime plot in Molo town.

According to court documents, the plan began on March 1st, when Muya and his daughter allegedly met the two killers at a hotel in Nakuru.

According to a sworn statement by one of the 'killers', Paul Waithaka, who has since been appointed as a state witness, the father and daughter wanted the five killed for refusing to vacate the prime land.

The statement read: "They wanted us to kidnap the mother, three sons, and a daughter, force them to transfer the plot to their names, and then kill them."

They agreed on a fee of Sh2 million and proceeded to collect the cash from the father and daughter, totalling Sh1.7 million, as the woman who lives in the United States flew back.

He claims that on April 21st, one of the suspects who lives in the United States returned, and the woman instructed us to eliminate him, but he declined and instead met with the victims and informed them of the plan.

One of the victims, Martin Muya, a Naivasha businessman, described receiving a phone call from his brother in the United States informing him of threats to the parcel of land.

He claimed they warned him to stay away from the land because they had orders to kill him and had been compensated for the exercise.

Muya added that on May 1st, they met the two 'killers' in Naivasha, where they revealed the entire plan and showed them all of their chats and Mpesa transactions.

The hearing continues on October 14th.