Short-stay apartment owner in Starlet Wahu murder case tells court she can’t recognise client she hosted
By Zipporah Ngwatu, April 21, 2026Florence Ngina, the owner of a short-stay house, Y32, at the Papino Apartment in South B, where Starlet Wahu was murdered, has told the court that she saw her client arrive but cannot recognize him.
Ngina, who appeared virtually before Milimani High Court Judge Alexander Muteti on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, informed the court that the man was not her direct client but a referral from another host.
It is her testimony that on January 3, 2024, at around 6 pm a friend and a fellow short-stay house host, Charity, visited her at the Papino apartment, and she found that she did not have a client that evening.
“My lord, I was in my apartment, and I didn’t have a client, and Charity, who was a fellow BnB owner, came to my apartment and found that I didn’t have a client,” Ngina told the court.
According to the witness, Charity told her that she had a host known to her by the name Jane who had a client who wanted a one-bedroom house with a balcony, but hers (Jane’s) were already fully booked.
Charity told her that she could refer her to her house since it has the specifics that the client wants but added that there were terms for the referral, and the said terms were that she would pay a commission of Ksh500.
The witness agreed to the terms, and she checked the condition of the house to ensure it was in good order to host the client after his arrival.
The court heard that as they (Ngina and Charity) stepped out of the house shortly before 7 pm, the said client, who was a male, was already at the door.
Ngina told the court that the only thing she remembers about the man who rented her house that evening was that he came wearing a cap, but she could not even remember the colour of the cap.
“My lord, I cannot identify the client, but he had a cap on when I arrived; I can’t recognize his face,” Ngina told the court.
Further, she told the court that the said man arrived at the house alone; he was not in the company of anyone.
After ushering the client into the house, Ngina told the court that she left her residence.
At around 11 pm she received a call from one Gitau, the Papino apartment guard, who told her that the person who had rented her house had left bleeding and had a towel wrapped around his neck.
She revealed to the court that after Gitau told her what had transpired, she panicked and immediately called Charity before ordering a rider to the apartment.
Ngina said that when she arrived at the apartment, she found the door of the house closed, but she had a spare key, which she handed over to the guard to open the house.
The court heard that after they opened the house, they found a body lying in the sitting room in a pool of blood, and she immediately rushed to the nearest police station to report what they had seen.
Meanwhile, the prosecution requested the court to issue a summons to the remaining witness, who is a cybercrime officer.
“My lord, we pray that the court issue a summons to the cybercrime officer who is the remaining witness in the matter,” the prosecution urged the court.
Justice Muteti summoned the prosecution witness to appear before him on Monday, April 27, 2026, at 10 am.