Nyeri mother rejects apology from seven-year-old daughter’s killer

The mother of the slain seven-year-old, Tamara Blessing, has rejected an apology from the man convicted of killing her daughter on May 24, 2025.

While making her oral victim impact assessment before the High Court in Nyeri, Susan Wanjiru told Justice Kizito Magare that no amount of apology or remorse from the convict would bring back her child or compensate for her loss.

“She used to be among the top performers all the time and she would tell us that she wanted to become a doctor. It pains me to see all the dreams she had were cut short by someone. I do not accept his apology because the apology can never bring her back,” Wanjiru said.

She further informed the court how the loss of her firstborn daughter had taken a toll on her family’s health, causing her and her husband to seek medical treatment and psychosocial support.

“Her death has affected me health-wise. I have not been okay since her death until now. I have been in and out of hospital and even attended seven counselling sessions. The incident has also impacted negatively on my spouse,” she said.

The seven-year-old Grade 1 pupil at Judah Academy went missing on May 24 from the Nyeri open-air market, where her mother operates as a trader. After a two-day search, CCTV footage from a car spare parts shop captured the convict, Nicholas Julius Macharia, walking with her to his home in Witemere slums in Nyeri town.

After his arrest on May 26, he led detectives to his house, where they discovered her lifeless body buried inside.

A post-mortem conducted at the county referral hospital mortuary on May 30 revealed that she had been defiled before the convict suffocated her to death. A day prior to the post-mortem, the convict recorded a confession with detectives, admitting to the incident.

When Macharia first appeared before Justice Magare on June 12, 2025, he pleaded guilty to the offence.

However, despite entering a guilty plea and a mental assessment report from Murang’a Level V hospital confirming that he was mentally fit to stand trial, the court did not record his first plea. Instead, Magare directed that Macharia be remanded in prison custody for 46 days, after which he would be presented in court again to take a plea.

At the time, the judge said he needed to be certain that Macharia understood the legal implications of pleading guilty to the offence.

Macharia later appeared a second time before Magare in July last year, where he denied the offence, paving the way for the case to proceed to a full trial.

He again overturned his earlier plea on January 22, 2026, on the grounds that he had had a change of heart.

On Monday, while submitting the mitigation, counsel for the convict, Mahugu Mbarire, told the court that his client was genuinely remorseful, had accepted responsibility for his actions and had gone further to issue an apology to the victim’s family.

Mahugu further told the court that his client had also demonstrated cooperation with the investigating team by leading them to the scene of the crime and by recording a confession over the matter.

“The accused person is genuinely remorseful. This is demonstrated by his acceptance of the responsibility of his actions. This is further buttressed by his pleading guilty to the charge that he is facing,” Mahugu said.

“In pleading guilty, what the accused has done is actually to save the court’s time and resources and we plead with the court that you find him worthy of benefiting from this action,” Mahugu added.

While urging the court not to impose a death sentence on his client, Mahugu also asked the court to consider that the accused did not have a prior capital offence record, adding that Macharia should be considered for rehabilitation.

“He informs me that he is a proper candidate for rehabilitation. He further informs me that he is in need of counselling or to be in a position to participate in programmes that will make him a better person. Essentially, the accused is not beyond reform and therefore the penalty of a death sentence is not merited in the circumstance,” he said.

The judge reassured the victim’s family that the court would be fair in its ruling. He said he would consider the rights of the victim and the convict in making his determination.

“We note of the loss of your first daughter who was seven years old. On behalf of the state, we note your pain. We have listened to the accused and we have listened to the mitigation and at the appropriate time the court will say something and when it says that something that is when in your own estimation you will find whether there was justice for both sides. We are not in a hurry because we may make mistakes and we will make your daughter go for nothing so we have to be very careful and proceed procedurally,” Magare said.

The matter will proceed on February 19.