John Matara has told the High Court that socialite Starlet Wahu attacked him with a knife during a dispute over payment for a sexual encounter shortly before she was found dead in a Nairobi apartment in January 2024.
Testifying in his defence before Milimani High Court Judge Alexander Muteti, Matara denied murdering the 24-year-old and claimed he sustained several injuries during the confrontation before fleeing the apartment and seeking medical treatment.
Matara is accused of killing Wahu, the sister of pastor Victor Kanyari, inside Room Y32 at Papino Apartments in South B, Nairobi, on January 3, 2024. His testimony offers his account of what happened that night, in contrast to the prosecution’s case.
He told the court that he first contacted Wahu in July or August 2023 after seeing her advertisement on an online platform for commercial sex workers. They subsequently communicated through WhatsApp.
According to Matara, Wahu quoted Sh35,000 for an encounter, and their first meeting took place at Sankara Hotel in Westlands. He said they spent the night together and that he paid the agreed amount before they parted the following day.
The two met again at the same hotel in December 2023, when Matara said he paid Sh20,000 and agreed to clear the outstanding Sh15,000 during their next meeting. He testified that they arranged to meet on January 3, 2024, after discussing the plan two days earlier. Wahu suggested South B and reminded him of the unpaid balance.
Matara said he left a music studio in Imara Daima at about 5pm and booked accommodation at Papino Apartments for Sh3,200. Wahu arrived at around 8pm in a red Uber, and Matara said he paid the Sh300 fare. The two bought whisky before returning to the apartment, where they drank and got intimate.
He added that they later took HIV tests, which returned negative results, and that he insisted on using condoms. Matara told the court that the disagreement began after their first encounter, when Wahu allegedly demanded Sh50,000, comprising the outstanding Sh15,000 and a further Sh35,000 for that night.
He said he sent her Sh20,000 through M-Pesa and promised to pay the remainder the following morning. He was expecting Sh100,000 from a website development project and said he unsuccessfully asked his sister for a Sh30,000 loan.
According to his account, Wahu eventually calmed down, but violence broke out after he returned to approach her. He claimed he intended to hug her when she pushed him onto the bed and he began feeling sharp pains in his thighs.
“I then landed on the floor and was hit on my head, and before I could appreciate what was happening, Wahu was bending above me and stabbing me multiple times with a knife,” he said.
Matara said he attempted to seize the knife during the struggle and sustained cuts to his palm. He claimed he managed to get away and ran into the living room, where Wahu followed him around a table before stopping. He further testified that he tried to call for help, but the loud music in the apartment prevented anyone from responding.
Asked by his lawyer whether he had handled the knife that the prosecution identified as the murder weapon, Matara denied touching it.
“I never handled that knife at any moment that night. I was defenceless, and she had overpowered me.”
His testimony differs from the prosecution’s case, which relied on evidence from 18 witnesses before the court ruled that he had a case to answer.
The court heard that Wahu’s body was discovered inside the locked apartment with injuries to her thigh, neck and face. A post-mortem examination attributed her death to severe blood loss and trauma associated with strangulation.
Prosecution evidence included a knife, DNA samples, CCTV footage and other items recovered from the apartment. Witnesses also testified that Matara left the scene with blood on his clothing and was later taken to hospital with injuries. Matara has denied the murder charge. The defence hearing is continuing.
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