In a shocking turn of events, 52-year-old Kenyan banker Leonard Thuo Mwithiga has been arrested in the United States for allegedly attempting to hire a hitman to kill his estranged wife. The former bank executive’s arrest unfolded after he approached an individual he believed to be a hitman, who was, in fact, a Confidential Informant (CI) cooperating with law enforcement.
Leonard Thuo Mwithiga and his wife had been married for 22 years and had two children before their relationship took a dark turn. Reports indicate that the marriage became abusive, with Mr. Mwithiga resorting to extreme measures such as locking his wife in a mental facility when she attempted to seek refuge abroad with their children.
The Connecticut State Police report reveals that Mwithiga and the CI, posing as an Uber driver, had several meetings between September 9 and December 1. During these encounters, Mwithiga reportedly expressed intense anger towards his wife, labeling her as evil and accusing her of turning their children against him.
“Mwithiga stated that he was ‘very, very mad, I need someone who is a killer,'” read part of the state police report.
As the alleged murder-for-hire plot developed, the CI began recording every conversation, documenting Mwithiga’s plans to harm his estranged wife. The victim, who had previously worked for a local airline in Kenya before relocating to the US, escaped her abusive marriage in September 2022. She revealed that her husband had been physically abusive and had threatened to kill her and their two children.
Before successfully fleeing Kenya, the victim had been involuntarily admitted to a mental facility after her husband filed a police report accusing her of being mentally disturbed. Despite this, the couple reconciled after her release.
On December 4, Mwithiga, the undercover state police sergeant, and the CI met outside a motel where he was staying. Allegedly, Mwithiga paid the undercover cop KSh 46,000 and the Uber driver KSh 15,000 to finalize an agreement to kill the victim between January 28 and February 3, 2024. He planned to travel back to Kenya during this period, ensuring he would be away when the crime occurred.
Mwithiga intended to send the Uber driver KSh 613,000 upon receiving his estranged wife’s obituary as payment for the hitman. However, his plans unraveled on December 4 when he was arrested and subsequently jailed on a KSh 766 million bond. He faces charges of criminal attempt murder with special circumstances, conspiracy, and witness intimidation.
The arrest has sent shockwaves through the Kenyan community in the US, highlighting the complexities of domestic violence and the lengths some individuals may go to in desperate attempts to control and harm their partners. The legal proceedings will now determine the fate of Leonard Thuo Mwithiga as the justice system addresses the gravity of the charges against him.
