- School principal Lucy Nungari has denied assaulting her estranged husband, veteran pilot Patrick Waweru Mwangi.
- The court rejected applications to defer plea-taking and to bar media coverage of the proceedings.
- Nungari was released on bail pending a pre-trial conference on August 6.
The principal of St Teresiah Preparatory School in Ngemwa, Kiambu County, has denied assaulting her estranged husband, veteran Kenyan pilot Patrick Waweru Mwangi, in a case that has brought renewed attention to a long-running domestic dispute between the two.
Lucy Nungari appeared before Kiambu Resident Magistrate Eric Muriuki, where she pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault causing actual bodily harm contrary to Section 251 of the Penal Code.
The court released her on a cash bail of Sh100,000 or a surety bond of Sh200,000. The case will be mentioned for a pre-trial conference on August 6, 2026.
Before the plea was taken, the defence mounted two applications seeking to stop the proceedings from going ahead as scheduled.
Defence counsel Jane Odiya urged the court to defer the plea, arguing that the new criminal case was closely linked to another matter pending before the same court in which Patrick Waweru is the accused.
Odiya told the court that Kiambu Criminal Case No. 2115 of 2025 involves allegations that Waweru assaulted Nungari by strangulation on November 18, 2025.
She argued that the fresh charges had been brought shortly before the hearing of the earlier case and amounted to an abuse of the court process because both cases allegedly arose from the same transaction.
The defence further referred to protection orders reportedly issued in December 2025 and questioned why the two parties had not been charged together.
“An accused in one matter cannot quickly come and claim to be a complainant in another matter,” Odiya submitted.
She maintained that the application was intended only to demonstrate why the plea should be deferred pending issues arising from the earlier case.
Prosecution opposed application
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) opposed the application, arguing that it had independently reviewed the evidence and decided to charge the accused.
The prosecution maintained that the existence of another criminal case did not prevent the ODPP from exercising its constitutional mandate to institute criminal proceedings where sufficient evidence exists.
Counsel for the complainant, Kimani Wakimaa, also opposed the defence applications and urged the court to allow the plea to proceed.
He cited the Supreme Court decision in John Lendrix Waswa v Republic, Petition No. 23 of 2019, arguing that the complainant’s participation in the proceedings was legally permissible.
Wakimaa also opposed an application seeking to bar journalists from covering the proceedings.
He argued that there was no legal basis for restricting media coverage merely because the accused is a school principal.
“There is nothing special with this case,” he told the court.
He further submitted that the domestic nature of the dispute had long been known to both parties and that the matter had taken time to reach court because of police investigations, ODPP reviews and attempts at alternative dispute resolution.
The complainant’s lawyer argued that the existence of another criminal case did not extinguish the present charge and that each matter should proceed independently.
He also opposed lenient bond terms, citing concerns over possible interference with witnesses and the complainant.
The court heard allegations that the accused had used the couple’s children to intimidate the complainant and had attempted to interfere with the investigating officer, although counsel acknowledged that supporting reports had not been placed before the court.
Court upholds ODPP powers
In his ruling, Magistrate Eric Muriuki dismissed the application seeking to bar media coverage, holding that no sufficient legal grounds had been presented to justify restricting public access to court proceedings.
He observed that the Constitution guarantees a fair and public hearing unless compelling reasons exist to limit access.
On the request to defer plea-taking, the magistrate considered the earlier criminal case, correspondence presented by the parties and the prosecution, and documents indicating that the complaint had been independently investigated.
The court noted that the ODPP had exercised its constitutional mandate under Article 157 of the Constitution by independently reviewing the evidence before approving the prosecution.
The magistrate held that the existence of another criminal case involving the same parties did not, by itself, prevent the prosecution from instituting separate proceedings where sufficient evidence existed.
The court further observed that criminal proceedings must be founded on a proper factual basis supported by evidence capable of sustaining prosecution.
Having considered the submissions by all parties, the court allowed the plea to proceed.
Nungari subsequently denied the assault charge and was released on bail pending the pre-trial conference on August 6, 2026.
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The matter is expected to continue attracting public interest as the two parties pursue separate criminal proceedings arising from their strained relationship
By Felix Wanderi
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