Murder trial of ex-Harambee Stars midfielder Collins Okoth underway as parents testify
Emotional scenes played out at the Milimani High Court as the parents of a slain three-year-old testified in the murder case against ex-footballer Collins Okoth and his neighbour Sylvia Aoko.
The murder trial of former Gor Mahia and Harambee Stars midfielder Collins Okoth alias Gatusso began at the Milimani High Court in Nairobi with emotional testimony from the parents of the deceased child, as new dates for the case proceedings were set.
Okoth is charged alongside his neighbour and co-accused Sylvia Aoko Odhiambo with the murder of a three-year-old girl, Scuvian Muyer, in Lucky Summer Estate, Nairobi. The incident is alleged to have occurred on the night of April 21–22, 2024.
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The child’s mother, Beatrice Awuor, told the court she left her daughter asleep at around 1am as she went out to hawk coffee and simsim in nearby bars. On returning home at 4am, she found the house door ajar, her child missing, and clothes scattered inside the house.
She said that after a frantic search, she was called back by the caretaker and found a crowd gathered outside. Her daughter’s body was discovered lying face down near a neighbouring building. Awuor told the court she was restrained by the area assistant chief from touching the body until police arrived.
A knife suspected to have been used to tamper with the door lock was allegedly recovered near Okoth’s window by the caretaker and later handed over to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
Awuor testified that she had been living in the same house with Sylvia, a former high school friend, who had offered her shelter after she separated from her husband, Alex Wanga, following the birth of their daughter. Awuor claimed that Sylvia had become increasingly hostile towards the child and that there was tension between them over a financial debt.
She added that while Sylvia had mentioned Okoth had once made advances towards her, she never saw the two together in the house and had never seen Okoth interact with her daughter.
The child’s father, Alex Wanga, who now lives in Huruma, also testified. He recalled receiving a call from Awuor’s landlord on the morning of April 22 asking him to rush to Lucky Summer. On arrival, he found his daughter dead.
Wanga said he had earlier been contacted by Awuor, who was searching for their daughter. He confirmed the child was not at his home in Huruma. According to Wanga, a pathologist at the City Mortuary informed him that the child had suffered head injuries consistent with a fall from a high point and that there were indications of sexual assault.
However, during cross-examination, defence lawyers Geoffrey Omenke and Evans Oduor challenged the claim of rape, arguing that the postmortem cited head trauma as the primary cause of death. Justice Alexander Muteti advised that such questions be addressed directly to the pathologist when he testifies.
Both Okoth and Sylvia deny the murder charges and have been in custody since their arrest on April 22, 2024. The court has denied them bail, although Okoth has applied for release pending trial. His bail application will be heard virtually on July 3, 2025.
The trial will resume on September 17 and 23, 2025.
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