University student Mercy Keino was spotted running on the road towards oncoming traffic 45 minutes before she was found dead, a witness told the court on Friday.

Michael Njenga, the 12th witness at the inquiry probing her death, recounted that he saw Mercy running towards his car waving at him to stop at around 2.30am.

"I was driving shortly after 2am from a club in Westlands to drop my nephew and his girlfriend. I saw a lady walking towards my car waving at me to stop. I observed her for about five seconds. She was wearing a dark spaghetti top. I did not stop, I swerved to avoid her," he recalled.

When he drove back through the same spot shortly after 3am, he told the inquest that he noticed her body lying on the road. "I spotted something on the road, I veered off the road... I also spotted a polo car that also swerved. I slowed down and saw a female body laying on my right side. The body was of the lady I had seen waving at me before."

Njenga said he then drove to the Parklands police station to report but did not manage to record any statement after he was referred to the traffic department and failed to get an officer to take his statement.

"I was driving shortly after 2am from a club in Westlands to drop my nephew and his girlfriend. I saw a lady walking towards my car waving at me to stop. I observed her for about five seconds. She was wearing a dark spaghetti top. I did not stop, I swerved to avoid her," he recalled

The witness however could not tell the inquiry the date or the month when he noticed the body, even though he recorded a statement with the police three days after Mercy's body was found. He said he did it after he learnt of her death.

During cross examination, defence lawyer Cliff Ombetta put Njenga on the spot after he said the girl was walking towards his car, while in his statement with police he said the girl was running.

He also contradicted himself after he said he had seen the girl 45 minutes before she was dead then later changed it to 15 minutes.

Ombetta claimed that according to earlier testimonies Mercy was still inside Wasini Luxury Homes at the time that Njenga claimed to have seen her waving at him.

Njenga was left in an awkward position after Ombetta ended his questions by asking him, "How can we be sure you are not the one who hit the girl?"