NAIROBI, Kenya — Self-confessed serial killer Evans Wanjala, whose name has become synonymous with one of Kenya’s most chilling murder sprees, will learn his fate this Friday after the High Court found him guilty of killing a 10-year-old girl in Uasin Gishu County.
In a verdict delivered by Justice Reuben Nyakundi, Wanjala was convicted of defiling and strangling Stacy Nabiso, a child who went missing on December 31, 2019.
Her mutilated body was discovered the following day buried in a thicket near Soweto estate in Moi’s Bridge.
A Trail of Horror: Forensic Evidence Seals Wanjala’s Fate
The ruling follows years of investigation, punctuated by Wanjala’s own haunting confession in which he led detectives to multiple crime scenes where he claimed to have carried out similar atrocities.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) submitted statements detailing how Wanjala methodically lured his victims, subjected them to sexual abuse, and then ended their lives with calculated cruelty.
Justice Nyakundi, in his summary, emphasized the prosecution’s watertight case. Forensic experts and medical professionals backed the charges with damning evidence, including DNA analysis that matched samples found on the minor’s clothing with those taken from the accused.
“Medical experts confirmed that the minor was defiled and strangled to death. Even DNA tests on blood samples collected from the minor’s t-shirt and underwear matched with samples taken from the accused,” the judge said.
Wanjala, who appeared in court on Wednesday hoping to receive his sentence, will now have to wait until Friday. “I will deliver the sentence on Friday so that this matter ends,” Justice Nyakundi noted during the brief hearing.
No Mercy: Family Rejects Plea Deal
At one point during the trial, Wanjala had attempted to negotiate a plea deal—a move that the victim’s family met with outrage. Stacy’s mother, Sharon Sakwa, firmly rejected the idea, calling it a “mockery” of the trauma and grief they’ve endured.
“He caused a lot of pain to my daughter and killed her brutally. It’s impossible to imagine that we can sit at the same table with such a person,” Sakwa told the court.
The court respected the family’s wishes, opting to proceed to full trial. In a ruling that may bring some semblance of closure, the verdict confirms what many in the public feared—that Wanjala is not just guilty, but calculating and dangerous.
Linked to Four More Murders — And More Charges Await
While this conviction pertains to the killing of Stacy Nabiso, it is far from the only case hanging over Wanjala.
He has been linked to the brutal deaths of at least four other girls: Linda Cherono (13), Mary Elusa (14), Grace Njeri (12), and Lucy Wanjiru (15). Their bodies were also exhumed from various locations around Moi’s Bridge in Uasin Gishu and Trans Nzoia counties.
Additional murder charges are pending, and prosecutors are expected to pursue them once Friday’s sentencing concludes.
