Murdered lawyer’s wife detained as plot thickens

After obtaining links that potentially links her to the death of lawyer Robert Chesang, police have arrested and detained the lawyer’s wife.

Senior principal magistrate Pauline Omungala was summoned by Athi River police officers investigating the murder and locked up yesterday as a suspect.

Shot seven times

Lawyer Robert Chesang’ was shot seven times in their Machakos home at about noon.

The murder was described as an assassination.

Omungala’s arrest brings the number of suspects being questioned to five. All are in custody.

Domestic violence

A senior police officer told the Star, “The motive was domestic violence between the deceased and his arrested wife, occasioned by fighting for property and leading to their cases appearing before courts. The wife felt that being a magistrate, she was being embarrassed by the cases being handled in courts,” the officer said.

The marriage had been violent. There were complaints of domestic violence that forced the couple to seek court redress.

One case was filed by the Chesang’ seeking protection against domestic violence.

In case number 47 of 2018 Chesang’ had alleged that he had been forced to move out of his house because his wife was violent and was using police officers to harass and intimidate him.

Access to house, cars

Subsequently he requested the courts grant him unconditional access to his home. He claimed the locks to the home had been changed. The house was also under police guard.

Chesang’ also said Omungala had transferred his two children to a new school and denied him access to them.

“From August 17 to date, I’ve lost all that I’ve acquired progressively since I started married life due to illegal actions of the respondents. I have technically lost the house, the cars and all my earthly belongings,” Chesang’ said in an affidavit.

He also asked the court to allow him access to his two vehicles, a Lexus and Premio, which he claimed were being used by police officers.

He had expressed dissatisfaction on the manner his case was being conducted, alleging interference from his wife and other magistrates. His case had been transferred five times before a ruling was made.

For example on September 24 last year, he wrote that while seated at a different table, senior resident magistrate Linus Kassan loudly discussed the case on the phone.

Conflict of Interest

“I’m in charge of court and I have instructed and ordered the trial magistrate to suspend the ruling coming up on Friday 21 of the domestic violence matter. I will make sure that a ruling will never be delivered on the matter. The trial magistrate is not conducting the case in the way I want,” he quoted the magistrate as having said.

In response, Kassan wrote three texts messages, asserting that he had never interfered with Chesang’s case. He said the lawyer used the claim as a tactic to ensure the case was not assigned to him after other magistrates opted out.

“Could that be your tactic — attack me so that I don’t touch the file? You don’t need to worry, brother. I have never seen your file. One day you will know that you were wrong,” he said in an SMS.

The same week, Kassan was transferred to Machakos law courts.

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