Wahome Murder Acquittal
Kenya High Court Acquits Rally Driver Maxine Wahome of Boyfriend Asad Khan's Murder
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Key Points
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Khan died on December 18, 2022, about a week after the December 11 incident, after being treated at Nairobi Hospital and then moved to Avenue Hospital's ICU where he subsequently died.
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There is a discrepancy in the reported location of the incident: articles refer to a Kilimani-area apartment (Article 1) and Preston Apartments on Nairobi's Oloitoktok Road (Article 2).
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Prosecution presented 29 witnesses, but the court found none of the testimony conclusively linked Wahome to the fatal injuries, with medical evidence indicating death resulted from sepsis related to injuries rather than a single fatal act.
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The ruling was delivered by Justice Lilian Mutende, who stated: "In totality, having considered all the evidence before the court, the case presented by the prosecution has failed to establish a prima facie case warranting that the accused person be placed on her defence."
Kenya's High Court has acquitted rally driver Maxine Wahome of murdering her boyfriend Asad Khan, ending a case that ran for more than three years. Justice Lilian Mutende ruled that prosecutors failed to prove their case, freeing Wahome without requiring her to mount a defence. Nairobi Law Monthly reported that the court found the evidence did not meet the legal bar required for a murder conviction.
Khan died on December 18, 2022 — about a week after an incident at the couple's Nairobi home on December 11. The case drew intense public attention in Kenya, partly because of Wahome's profile as a prominent rally driver. Nairobi Leo confirmed the acquittal was delivered on July 28, 2026.
Court Finds Prosecution Evidence Too Weak to Convict
Justice Mutende was direct in her ruling. She stated: "In totality, having considered all the evidence before the court, the case presented by the prosecution has failed to establish a prima facie case warranting that the accused person be placed on her defence." A prima facie case means enough evidence to require a response from the accused. The court found even that low bar was not cleared. Signs TV reported the ruling.
Prosecutors called 29 witnesses over the course of the trial. But according to Eagle News Feed, none of their testimony conclusively linked Wahome to the injuries that killed Khan. The court also noted that the prosecution could not show she acted with the criminal intent required for a murder charge.
Medical Evidence Pointed to Sepsis, Not a Single Fatal Blow
Khan did not die immediately after the December 11 incident. He was first treated at Nairobi Hospital, then moved to the ICU at Avenue Hospital, where he died seven days later. That gap complicated the prosecution's case. Streamline Feed reported that medical evidence showed Khan's death resulted from sepsis — a dangerous infection response — linked to his injuries, not a single, clearly attributable act by Wahome.
The court also weighed questions about the quality of hospital care Khan received after the incident. Prosecutors pointed to Wahome's conduct after the incident as part of their argument. But the court found that none of this was enough. The chain of cause between Wahome's actions and Khan's death could not be firmly established, according to Nairobi Law Monthly.
A Three-Year Public Case Ends With No Conviction
Wahome denied any involvement from the start. The case stretched from late 2022 through mid-2026. Nairobi Leo noted that the highly publicised trial centered on an altercation at the couple's Nairobi residence. Reports differ slightly on the location — one account places it in the Kilimani area, another at Preston Apartments on Oloitoktok Road.
With the acquittal now in hand, Wahome faces no further criminal proceedings in this case. The ruling means she walks free without ever having to testify in her own defence. For Kenya's legal community, the case raises questions about how prosecution teams build and present evidence in high-profile murder trials, according to Eagle News Feed.
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