A 20-year-old man from Mombasa town who was charged with the brutal murder of his 80-year-old grandmother has a case to answer.
Lady Justice Anne Ong’ijo placed Abdulaziz Swaleh on his defense for the murder of Shariffa Ali Salim in Old Town area on January, 21, 2023 after considering the prosecution case.
In her ruling, Ong’ijo ruled that the 15 prosecution witnesses presented evidence indicating that the accused murdered his grandmother.
The judge noted that the prosecution led by PPC Ms. Kernel Nyawinda and PC Mr. Bernard Ngiri, had established a prima facie case against the accused to warrant his being placed on his defense.
The defense hearing has been scheduled for March 1, 2024.
Mystery
Mystery still surrounds the motive behind the brutal killing of the elderly woman.
On the fateful day, Swaleh had an argument with his grandmother, with reports indicating he picked a kitchen knife and slit her throat.
The body of the octogenarian was found sprawled in a pool of blood in her house.
Eye witnesses claim the suspect wanted money from the deceased and when she refused to the demand, all hell broke lose.
Depressed
In a previous court session, an emotional father narrated how his son was suffering from depression at the time of the incident.
Abdulaziz Ali Swaleh testified that his son was under medication waiting for further tests at Port Reitz Hospital.
He told the court that at the time of the incident, he had gone to receive his step son who was jetting back to the country from Qatar.
“I had talked to my stepson to step up and help me take his brother to a rehab centre and one of the reasons my stepson was coming to Mombasa was to help in seeking medication for Abdulaziz. Some medical tests had been done and the doctor had recommended that we take more tests so I did not have any cash for the tests,” Ali told the court.
