After he was accused of trying to hire a hitman to kill a female relative who was scheduled to testify against him in court, a Kenyan man was taken into custody in Connecticut, USA.
Manager Leonard Thuo Mwithiga, 52, of a prestigious Kenyan bank, is alleged to have persistently asked someone to put him in touch with a hitman between September 9 and December 1, 2023.
According to court records, Mwithiga requested that the hitman “finish her” and “put that woman down,” referring to the purportedly female family member.
Connecticut media outlets reported that the man suggested that the woman could also be injected with something to make her sick “like a cancer.”
Mwithiga, who was staying at a hotel in Putnam, was arrested on Monday after meeting with an undercover police officer who posed as a hitman.
He was charged with criminal attempt at intimidation of a witness, conspiracy to commit murder and criminal attempt at murder with special circumstances.
Judge Kevin Shay said that the plot by the accused was not accidental as it had involved a plan that enlisted other individuals.
The prosecution successfully argued that his bond be set at $5 million (about Ksh.762 million) saying he was a flight risk since he frequently travelled back and forth from Kenya.
Mwithiga was also ordered to surrender all firearms and keep his distance from any victims and/or witnesses.
Though his lawyer, Mwithiga said he was innocent adding that he was a manager at a bank in Kenya where he held a degree from a reputable university.
The case will be heard on January 26, 2024.
