Mawanga murder witness tells court how he joined deadly gang for 'better life'
Courts
By
Julius Chepkwony
| Nov 11, 2025
A witness in the murder of one of the four women killed in Mawanga Estate in Nakuru County three years ago testified that he joined a gang that promised him a better life.
Evans Kebwaro, 28, while testifying, told the Nakuru High Court, Samwel Mohochi, how he was lured to abandon the construction work in search of better better-paying job, which involved robbing, killing, raping, and setting the houses ablaze to conceal evidence.
He claimed at the time, he never knew what the job entailed.
Kebwaro, serving a 10-year sentence at Naivasha Maximum G.K. Prison for the murder of Grace Wanjiku, testified against his five co-accused: Kevin Omondi, Josphat Simiyu, Julius Omondi, Isaac Kinyanjui, and Dennis Mmbolo, facing murder charges.
He is also serving other sentences for confessing to the murder of three other women, Susan Wambui, Beatrice Akinyi, and Diana Opicho, between December 21, 2021, and June 24, 2022, in Mawanga Estate, Nakuru County.
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“On June 14, 2022, I was at a construction site in Manyani at 10 am. I was with Kinyanjui, Mmbolo, and Simiyu when Kevin and Julius invited us to join them for a job with better pay, which would make us own a vehicle, money, and a house,” he said.
Kebwaro and his friends were left tongue-tied, wondering about the kind of job that was. That evening, he said they met at the plot where they reside.
They would meet at Julius's home for less than 30 minutes to plan for jobs and payments.
During the meeting, Kebwaro was told that the job required personnel, a job that started the next day.
At the initial stage, he said they took an oath and drove in a posh, tinted vehicle.
He confirmed that the occupant and the driver of the said car were not arrested.
They met at Kingdom Seekers' ground on June 15, 2022, at 9 am, armed with swords allegedly given by Kevin. After Julius and Kevin provided directions to the targeted house, they boarded two motorcycles.
He claimed to have boarded the same motorcycle with Julius and Mmbolo at Wanjiku's place. Kevin allegedly directed Simiyu and Kinyanjui to engage Wanjiku at her shop.
The two introduced themselves as carpenters sent by her mother, Esther Njoki, who had left for church, to repair furniture in their house, which was next to the shop.
They faced resistance as Wanjiku dismissed them; her efforts to confirm the same were stopped by Simuyu, who snatched her phone.
Wanjiku was threatened with a knife by Kevin, who had a wire, which they tied around the woman's neck, and drugged her to the main house.
The woman was killed.
Julius allegedly ordered Kebwaro Mmbolo to get the money from the shop where they found Sh2,500 and airtime, handing it over to Julius.
They packed a 32-inch TV in a box as Kevin spilt petrol before setting the house on fire and left the scene to Kingdom Seeker.
After the meeting, Kebwaro said that he went to his house and changed his clothes, and went back to the scene where he found a huge fire.
At 5 pm, he said they regrouped while Julius and Kevin paid them Sh2,000, promising more work in the future.
“We then parted ways at around 1 pm, but other future jobs were organized similarly to this in Mawanga. I went for three such jobs,” he testified.
Kebwaro was the first to be arrested in possession of a victim in the four crimes in June 2022 at Kisii town, which led to the arrest of the five.
Postmortem report on Wanjiku revealed that she died from strangulation, and the body had injuries in the private parts.
The case will be further heard on May 11, 2026.