High Court clears Maxine Wahome of Assad Khan murder charge after three-year trial
Key points
- High Court on Tuesday acquitted Maxine Wahome of murder; ODPP case fell short of proof beyond reasonable doubt.
- Incident dated 11 December 2022 in a Kilimani apartment; Khan died 18 December after ICU care.
- Wahome pleaded not guilty when arraigned in February 2023; trial ran more than three years.
- Defence counsel Steve Kimathi called the outcome a clearing of her name after what he said was a weak file.
Under Kenyan criminal procedure, murder stands only when every element is proved beyond reasonable doubt. On Tuesday the High Court held that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions had not met that bar against rally driver Maxine Wahome, ending a file that began with the death of her boyfriend and fellow motorsport figure Assad Khan.
Judges' language was blunt: the evidence adduced could not support a conviction. Wahome had denied responsibility throughout. The proceedings closed a stretch of more than three years in the High Court after she was first brought before the bench in February 2023.
How the death entered the courts
Prosecutors said Khan was seriously hurt on 11 December 2022 during a domestic confrontation at a Kilimani apartment in Nairobi. He was taken first to Nairobi Hospital, then to Avenue Hospital, where he was treated in intensive care. He died on 18 December 2022, a week after the night that later became the murder charge.
Investigators and the ODPP then approved murder charges. At trial the State called multiple witnesses to link Wahome to the fatal injuries; the defence answered that the chain was inconsistent and could not prove murder. After submissions, the court found the legal burden unsatisfied and entered an acquittal.
What an acquittal does — and does not do
An acquittal is not a public inquiry into every disputed fact of the relationship; it is a finding that the criminal standard was not met. Through advocate Steve Kimathi, Wahome's team said the case should never have been preferred and that the ruling restored her reputation. Families of victims often still want answers that criminal courts cannot always give when proof fails.
Crime desk readers can track whether the ODPP issues any further statement on the file. Crime hub: Crime.
Motorsport bodies and sponsors will decide separately how to treat Wahome's professional status; those are commercial choices, not court orders. The judgment stands as the criminal close of the Khan homicide charge against her.
Based on Eastleigh Voice reporting of the High Court judgment. Court records control the formal order and reasons.
