The family of the murdered Moi University medical student, Ivy Wangechi, lost in their plea submitted by their lawyer, Violet Nyakima, to have the trial moved to Nairobi.
Speaking at the Eldoret High Court, judge Stephen Githinji explained that he denied their request on the grounds that the alleged murder had taken place in Eldoret.
Judge Githinji added that the key witnesses expected to testify at the hearing were also residents of the county, therefore, making it impractical to have the case moved to Nairobi.
At the same hearing, the sole murder suspect, Naftali Kinuthia, denied the murder charges raised against him and asked that the court release him on bail through his lawyer, Mbiu Kamau.
Reports by Citizen Digital reported that the lawyer argued his client posed no flight risk and would not hinder any ongoing investigations if he was released on bail.
However, the court denied Mr Kinuthia their petition and directed that he be remanded until May 10, 2019, the scheduled date for the hearing of the case.
The high court judge also denied Kinuthia request to have the car he allegedly used to drive into the referral hospital, where he is accused of having committed the gruesome murder, on grounds that the it was part of the evidence in the case.
Mr Kinuthia stands accused of the murder of Ivy by bludgeoning her with an axe on April 9, 2019, an incident that captured the entire nation’s attention.
On April 10, 2019, Mr Kinuthia claimed that he hacked Wangechi to death because he had invested money and love but she did not reciprocate.
The late Ivy Wangechi was laid to rest on April 18, 2019, in Mahiga, Nyeri county, where Gatundu South MP, Moses Kuria, unveiled a plan to end the sprouting killings, mostly of university students.
