The late Sharon Njeri Mwangi, wife to Michael Macharia Njiri alias DJ Brownskin, consumed pesticide meant to eradicate cockroaches, a witness disclosed in court.
Appearing before Principal Magistrate Carolyne Mugo, Jacinta Njeri Kiarie, the deceased’s sister, told the court the late Sharon drank the pesticide on July 29, 2022.
She, however, insisted that her late sister was not suicidal.
“The purpose of the pesticide she took was to kill cockroaches, not for suicide. Sharon and her friend were having issues with cockroaches in their houses, so they bought a pesticide to eradicate them, and it was always on top of the fridge waiting for the right time to use it when the kids were not in the house,” Njeri narrated before the court.
Separation
During the hearing, it also emerged that the late Sharon and DJ Brownskin had separated. According to Njeri’s account, DJ Brownskin moved out of their house around December 2021, but he would visit from time to time.
Njeri noted that her family was well aware that the frequent visits were meant to help him bond with his kids, but also to act as an avenue for them to solve their relationship issues.
Before their fallout, Njeri informed the court that they lived happily, which she insisted she witnessed at the time she lived with them.
Njeri, however, expressed regret in DJ Brownskin’s action, insisting that he could have saved her sister’s life instead of recording a video.
“He should have also taken his wife to the hospital instead of taking the video, then address the issue later,” Njeri told the court.
Meanwhile, she disclosed to the court that she had spoken to Sharon the previous day on July 28, 2022, and she did not sound suicidal. According to Njeri, their conversation was centred about a business she was set to start.
During the hearing, it was also revealed that on September 29, 2020, there was a resolution of a marriage dispute between the two in the presence of their parents and three elders that amicably reached an agreement for the two to separate.
It was also disclosed that Sharon had attacked her husband, leaving him with injuries, an incident which was recorded in a police station.
Another witness account
The other witness who took the dock was Emily Akinyi, a University student who, at the time of the incident, was working as a maid at DJ Brownskin’s home in Kariobangi South.
Akinyi told the court she was employed by the deceased on June 18, 2022. She narrated that on the night of July 28, 2022, after finishing her duties, she rested, not knowing that the couple was not in the house.
At around 5 am, she heard the couple quarreling downstairs, and thereafter, the husband called her, asking her to take milk to them, and on reaching the sitting room with a cup of milk, DJ Brownskin instructed her to feed her.
Akinyi told the court that by the time she got there, Sharon could not hold the cup because she was in pain and rolling on the floor. Later, the husband took the cup of milk from the maid and fed her.
Later, the husband made a call to the police and informed them that his wife was attempting to kill herself, who then instructed him to ask the neighbours to help him take Sharon to the hospital.
The husband then sent the maid and the kids to go call neighbours who came in and helped DJ Brownskin put her in the car and rushed her to Metropolitan Hospital in Buru Buru.
Cross examination
Lawyer Duncan Okatch, representing the accused, asked Akinyi whether he had witnessed the couple having issues or quarrels.
In her response, she stated that most of the time the couple did not stay in the house and that she was new in the household,, and she could not tell whether they used to quarrel from time to time because they were always away.
On whether she knew why she had been ordered to give her employer some milk, Akinyi said she was told by her husband that she had taken a lot of medicine but she was not informed what kind of medicine.
They were later informed that Sharon had passed on, and her mother came and picked her and the kids up to take them home in Kamulu.
“They told us that night that Sharon has passed away, Sharon’s mother picked us up, and we went to stay at their home in Kamulu,” Akinyi told the court.
Meanwhile, she told the court that she did not notice any difference between the family of Sharon and that of her husband during the burial preparations and the burial day.
After the burial, she later left the family and went back to school and did not keep in touch with anyone from the family and she has never gone back there.
Three more witnesses, including a minor, are expected to testify on the matter on July 23, 2025, when the hearing will resume.
