A son to medical doctor Nisha Sapra, who is charged with manslaughter, allegedly told police that his mother stabbed his father during a domestic quarrel, a court has heard.
Rishi Sapra is said to have witnessed the incident in his parents’ bedroom on August 2, 2005.
Son allegedly witnessed father’s stabbing
Retired DCI officer Harrison Gikandi told Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Benmark Ekhubi that Rishi gave police an account of the incident.
“The son who is scheduled to testify in court will give a graphic account of the incident which occurred on August 2, 2005,” Gikandi told the court.
The court heard that Rishi’s bedroom was adjacent to his parents’ bedroom.
Rishi now lives in Canada and is expected to testify against his mother in the case.
DNA evidence presented in court
Gikandi told the court that investigators collected a carpet and bedsheets from the couple’s bedroom.
The items were taken to a government analyst for DNA testing.
The retired DCI officer presented a report showing that DNA samples from Yogesh Madan Sapra matched samples collected from the carpet and bedsheets.
He also produced a Nairobi Hospital report concerning Yogesh’s injuries.
According to the report, Yogesh suffered stab wounds to his stomach and armpit.
When prosecutor Willy Momanyi asked Gikandi who could have stabbed Yogesh, he identified his wife as the alleged attacker.
Defence questions medical evidence
Nisha’s lawyer, Kioko Kilukumi, questioned the investigation and medical evidence presented by the prosecution.
During cross-examination, Gikandi admitted that investigators did not investigate how Nairobi Hospital treated Yogesh during the 17 days he remained there.
Kilukumi suggested that medical negligence could have contributed to Yogesh’s death.
“This is a case of medical negligence and the doctor who was handling the deceased is under investigation,” Kilukumi told the court.
The lawyer also questioned whether the doctor who treated Yogesh would testify.
Postmortem report cites septicemia
The defence further relied on a postmortem report prepared by pathologist Dr Jane Wasike and another expert.
The report indicated that Yogesh died from septicemia, a bacterial infection in the bloodstream.
Gikandi told the court that an inquest followed the investigations into Yogesh’s death.
Former Senior Resident Magistrate Timothy Okelo reportedly recommended that Nisha face a murder charge.
However, the charge was later reduced to manslaughter by retired Justice Muga Apondi.
Nisha has denied killing her husband and remains out on bond as the manslaughter case continues.
