Nairobi — Naftali Kinuthia has been convicted of the 2019 murder of Ivy Wangeci, a Moi University medical student hacked to death outside the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH).

Kinuthia, who is said to have had a sexual relationship with the student, told the court he had been provoked by the victim, an assertion the court dismissed.

Justice Reuben Githinji, sitting in Eldoret, said he was satisfied the prosecution had proved its case and that the suspect stood convicted.

The suspect had told the court he was enraged by Wangeci's decision to pursue a relationship with another man.

In his verdict on Thursday, Justice Githinji noted there was no evidence to support the existence of an intimate relationship between the suspect and the victim.

"Even text messages reviewed did not prove evidence of an intimate relationship and the the accused did not also prove a sexual relationship with the deceased," Justice Githinji said.

"If he did not want to kill her he would have used bare feasts on her and not the axe," the judge went on to state.

The judge scheduled a November 22 session for mitigation and sentencing.