A Nakuru court has issued interim protection orders barring a former Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) captain accused of murdering Anita Mugweru in the presence of a four-year-old child and other witnesses from allegedly harassing, intimidating or threatening the deceased’s family pending the hearing of a case filed under the Protection Against Domestic Violence Act.

Senior Principal Magistrate Adet Vincent Okello issued the orders on Wednesday following an application by Serah Nyokabi Mugweru, the mother of the late Anita Mugweru, who told the court that her family had allegedly been subjected to threats after the accused was taken into custody.

The court restrained the respondent, Captain Edwin Muthomi Kaunga, who is currently suspended from the KDF, from harassing, tormenting, intimidating or threatening the applicant and her family, either directly or through agents, servants or proxies, pending the determination of the application. The Officer Commanding Station (OCS) at Nakuru Police Station was directed to oversee enforcement of the orders.

According to court documents, the applicant alleged that the respondent, who is facing murder charges over the death of Anita Mugweru, had been communicating threats to family members through a phone number purportedly linked to him while in custody. The family claimed that the caller threatened to go after the deceased’s child, causing fear among relatives.

The application further states that several family members received calls from a person identifying himself as Edwin, prompting fears that the alleged intimidation could continue unless the court intervened.

Former Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko was listed in the proceedings solely as an interested party supporting the applicant’s family and is not a respondent in the protection order application. Sonko has been supporting the family since Anita’s death, including assisting in the care of Baby Talisha, who is said to have witnessed her mother’s killing.

The court directed the applicant to serve the application and order within three days, while the respondent and any interested party were granted 14 days to file their responses. The matter is scheduled for an inter partes hearing on July 7, 2026.

The case comes as the family seeks legal protection while criminal proceedings relating to the death of Anita Mugweru continue before the courts.