NAIVASHA, Kenya – The High Court in Naivasha has temporarily lifted warrants of arrest issued against a United States-based couple accused of conspiring to murder five members of their family, including the man’s mother.
Justice Cecilia Githua granted temporary relief to Amos Wanjiru and his wife, Alice Muya, weeks after a lower court ordered their arrest and allowed the prosecution to commence extradition proceedings.
The couple is jointly charged with Alice Muya’s 73-year-old father, Francis Muya, over five counts of conspiracy to murder members of their family.
Francis Muya has already been charged with allegedly conspiring, between March 1 and May 2, 2024, together with others not before the court, to hire killers for more than KSh3 million to murder his estranged wife, Rose Njeri Muya.
He also faces four additional counts of conspiracy to murder Antony Mwaura, Martin Muya, Alex Muya and Oprah Muya, who are his three sons and daughter.
Defence lawyer Edwin Njagi moved to the High Court under a certificate of urgency, seeking orders to suspend the arrest warrants issued against the couple, arguing they had been accused of ignoring court summons they had never been served with.
Appearing virtually, Njagi argued that the magistrate’s court erred by issuing warrants of arrest before the couple had been formally served with summons to appear in court.
He further submitted that the lower court improperly granted the prosecution permission to begin extradition proceedings without first giving his clients an opportunity to be heard.
During the proceedings, lawyer Mbugua Macharia, representing the alleged victims, applied to be enjoined in the appeal, informing the court that a related matter remains pending before the magistrate’s court.
In her ruling, Justice Githua directed the victims to file their application within seven days and ordered that the suspension of the arrest warrants remain in force for 21 days.
According to the prosecution, Francis Muya, allegedly with the assistance of his daughter and son-in-law, hired assassins to eliminate members of the family in a dispute over ownership of a prime property in Molo Town.
Court documents allege the conspiracy began on March 1, 2024, when Francis Muya and his daughter allegedly met two suspected hitmen at a hotel in Nakuru, where they reportedly agreed on a fee of KSh3.1 million for the killings.
The prosecution further alleges that part of the money was mobilised before Alice Muya returned to the United States.
The matter is scheduled for further hearing on July 29, 2026.