Moses Kanyi Muchiri will now face manslaughter charges after the court ruled that the prosecution had failed to present sufficient evidence to sustain murder charges in a Nyeri court.
Muchiri had been arrested after he allegedly stabbed his friend, Wachira Njoroge alias Kigumo on 25 December 2014 at Ndunyu market in Mahiga.
It was reported that the two disagreed at a bar over a woman who was with them prompting Muchiri, a butcher by occupation, to use a knife to kill his friend.
In her ruling, Judge Teresiah Matheka said the evidence produced by the state found that Muchiri was not guilty of murder and reduced the charges to manslaughter.
She argued that in a murder, the state must prove beyond reasonable doubt that Muchiri intentionally killed Kigumo, who was a best friend to him.
The ruling is due on June 2019.
