Jealousy Over Instagram Led to Kilifi Woman’s Murder

A Mombasa court has convicted Murad Awadh Mbarak of murdering his wife, Nuru Ibrahim, in June 2022 after a trial that detailed escalating conflict, threats and a fatal attack in their Kilifi home.

Although no formal marriage documents were presented, Mbarak admitted that he lived with Ibrahim and that they had five surviving children. He described their relationship as stable, but relatives testified to frequent disputes that often required family intervention. 

Many of these quarrels centred on money. Ibrahim had sold her jewellery to help pay for the construction of their home, which was registered solely in Mbarak’s name. Tensions also arose from a loan Mbarak had given her brother. Despite partial repayment by their late father, he continued to press for the remaining balance, disregarding relatives’ advice to wait for succession processes. These financial disagreements repeatedly strained the household.

Witnesses told the High Court that Mbarak became increasingly angry when Ibrahim opened an Instagram account. He claimed her online activity exposed her to men and unwanted attention. 

Relatives said Ibrahim had considered leaving the marriage and had asked to be repaid for her contribution to the house so she could begin again. She confided in her sister, Nasra, that Mbarak had threatened to kill her or release intimate photographs if she tried to separate from him.

Three days before Ibrahim’s death, Mbarak raised concerns about her Instagram use with her uncle. Another argument followed two days later, prompting relatives to intervene. By 17 June, he had told friends that if she left, he would ensure “no other man would want her” by circulating nude images. Evidence later confirmed he had such photographs in his possession.

The events of 18–19 June were recounted by the couple’s 11-year-old daughter and several neighbours. The child said she woke to her mother’s screams and saw her father beating her with a broken piece of wood from a baby’s cot. Neighbours, who heard Ibrahim shouting “I am being killed!”, tried to enter the house, but Mbarak stabbed at their hands through the door with a knife. Inside, Ibrahim lay naked, bleeding and calling for help.

Police were called, and Mbarak surrendered shortly afterwards. Forensic tests later confirmed that the knife and his clothing carried blood matching Ibrahim’s DNA. His claim that an intruder had attacked them collapsed after his employer testified that he had not been working that night and witnesses confirmed no outsider was present.

Delivering judgment in November 2025, Justice Wendy Micheni found that the prosecution had proved the charge beyond a reasonable doubt. The court concluded that eyewitness accounts, forensic evidence and Mbarak’s prior threats demonstrated clear intent. 

The judge held that his actions, locking the house, using a piece of the cot as a weapon, refusing to open the door, and injuring neighbours who tried to intervene, showed deliberate and sustained violence driven by jealousy. Mbarak is awaiting sentencing.