The hearing of Ivy Wangechi's murder case was adjourned to 2020 by an Eldoret court on Tuesday, November 5, 2019.
Naftali Kinuthia, the key murder suspect, through his lawyer, argued that the defence needed more time to go through prosecution documents.
Defence Lawyer Mbiyu Kamau told Eldoret High Court Judge Stephen Githinji that his team was not given the documents in time.
“My Lord, I object to this trial proceeding since we were supplied with this document today. It is unfair to my client and that’s why I plead with you to set another day for the trial,” Mbiyu pleaded.
Kinuthia's lawyer further intrigued the court when he made a request that introduced a new twist in the murder trial that shook the nation.
The defence attorney asked the court to grant his client more time before the trial begins and argued that Kinuthia that was in the process of applying for a plea bargaining agreement with the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji.
Kinuthia was accused of murdering Ivy, a former student of medicine at Moi University Eldoret on April 9.
Ivy's family, through lawyer Caroline Nyakinyua, objected to the plea bargain and argued that the family wanted the trial to proceed to finality.
“We came here prepared to start off the trial hearing since we believe we have a strong case against the accused person. We, however, respect the decision of the court and we will wait for the final ruling,” the lawyer told the court.
Both Kinuthia's and Ivy's parents were in the court when the plea bargain issue was introduced by lawyer Mbiyu Kamau.
