The High Court has acquitted rally driver Maxine Wahome of the murder charge relating to the death of her boyfriend and fellow rally driver, Asad Khan, after finding that the prosecution failed to establish a case requiring her to be put on her defence.

In a ruling delivered on Tuesday, Justice Lilian Mutende held that the evidence presented by the prosecution did not meet the legal threshold required to sustain the murder charge. The court consequently acquitted Wahome under Section 306(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, bringing the criminal proceedings to an end.

“The prosecution has failed to establish a prima facie case to warrant placing the accused on her defence,” the court ruled, concluding that the evidence presented was insufficient to support the murder charge.

Wahome had been charged over the death of Khan following an incident at Preston Apartments on Oloitoktok Road in Nairobi on December 12, 2022. Khan sustained serious injuries during the incident and later died while receiving treatment, prompting the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to charge Wahome with murder.

Throughout the trial, Wahome denied the charge.

The prosecution called 29 witnesses in an effort to prove its case. However, Justice Mutende found that the evidence presented did not sufficiently connect Wahome to the fatal injuries sustained by Khan and therefore did not justify requiring her to present a defence.

According to the court, the evidence fell short of the legal standard required at the close of the prosecution’s case, leading to Wahome’s acquittal without her being called upon to testify in her defence.

The case attracted widespread public attention following Khan’s death in December 2022. Wahome, one of Kenya’s prominent rally drivers, was initially investigated in connection with the incident before being formally charged with murder. The trial proceeded over several months as the court heard testimony from investigators, medical experts and other witnesses.

Under Kenya’s criminal justice system, a court may acquit an accused person at the close of the prosecution’s case if it finds that the evidence presented does not establish a prima facie case. In such circumstances, the accused is not required to give evidence or call witnesses in their defence.

The ruling brings to a close one of the country’s most closely followed criminal trials involving a high-profile sportsperson. Unless successfully challenged through the appellate process, the acquittal ends the murder proceedings against Wahome.