A High Court in Nyeri on Tuesday postponed a session in which a former soldier accused of killing his estranged wife and his two children in Nanyuki was expected to take a plea to the charges levelled against him.
While delivering the verdict on the progress of the case, Justice Jairus Ngaah said that the session could not continue because the prime suspect Peter Mugure had not undergone a mental test.
The judge said that the major, who is accused of killing the 31-year-old Joyce Syombua and her children; Shanice Maua,10 and Prince Michael 5, might not be in a stable condition to undertake the test. The declaration came after an application from the Office of Director of Public Prosecution.
The Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecution Peter Mailanyi told the court that the suspect was only going to answer the questions after undertaking the test to ascertain the truth.
“The King’ong’o prison authorities, where the suspect is detained, decided to have Mugure escorted to the hospital on Thursday, December 19. We are not in a position to have him answer to the murder charge,” Mailanyi argued.
The defence, however, opposed the application after it emerged that he had been behind bars for more than a month now.
The team requested the court to fasten the process so that their client can get justice at the end of the day. The trial comes after the deceased bodies were found buried in a shallow grave.