The long-running family dispute between veteran Kenyan pilot Captain Patrick Waweru and his estranged wife, Lucy Nongari, took another dramatic turn after a Nairobi court dismissed attempts to halt criminal proceedings and allowed an assault case against Nongari to proceed.

The courtroom session, broadcast live online, marked the latest chapter in a legal battle that has attracted widespread public attention following exclusive interviews by both parties, previously featured by Livenow Africa through courtesy of Tuko News.

During the proceedings, lawyers representing Nongari raised two preliminary objections before plea-taking. They sought to bar members of the media from covering the proceedings, arguing that the matter was a private family dispute whose publicity would damage the reputation of the accused. They also urged the court to defer plea-taking, arguing that the assault charge arose from the same transaction as another pending criminal case involving Captain Waweru and that the issues should be dealt with together.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) opposed both applications.

State counsel argued that the Constitution guarantees public court proceedings and that no law had been cited to justify excluding journalists from reporting on the case. Prosecutors further maintained that the decision to charge Nongari had independently met both the evidential and public interest tests required before prosecution could commence.

Lawyers acting for Captain Waweru also opposed the applications, telling the court that previous attempts to resolve the matter through alternative dispute resolution had failed and that the family disagreement had been under investigation for months.

Court upholds open justice

In a detailed ruling, the magistrate rejected the application seeking to exclude the media, citing Article 50 of the Constitution, which guarantees every person the right to a fair and public hearing.

The court held that no sufficient legal grounds had been presented to justify restricting media coverage and observed that no Kenyan law had been cited empowering the court to bar journalists from reporting on the proceedings.

The magistrate also declined to stop the plea-taking despite arguments that another criminal case involving Captain Waweru was already pending.

The court held that decisions on whether to prosecute fall within the constitutional mandate of the Director of Public Prosecutions, whose office exercises independent authority under Article 157 of the Constitution. It further ruled that the existence of another criminal case did not automatically prevent fresh charges from being brought where prosecutors believed sufficient evidence existed.

According to the prosecution, the file contained evidence including witness statements and medical documentation before the decision to charge was made.

Assault charge read

After dismissing the preliminary applications, the court directed that the plea be taken.

Lucy Nongari denied the charge of assault causing actual bodily harm contrary to Section 251 of the Penal Code, with Captain Patrick Waweru listed as the complainant.

The prosecution opposed her release on bail, alleging there was a risk of interference with witnesses, including claims that the complainant had been threatened through family members and that there had been attempts to interfere with witnesses connected to the investigation.

However, the court found that no compelling evidence had been presented to justify denying bail.

Nongari was released on a bond of KSh200,000 with one surety or an alternative cash bail of KSh100,000. The court also warned her against contacting or interfering with witnesses unless authorised through court-sanctioned alternative dispute resolution processes, cautioning that any breach could lead to cancellation of her bond. The matter was scheduled for mention on 6 August 2026 for further directions.

Background: A marriage that unravelled in public

The courtroom developments come after Captain Patrick Waweru, a veteran pilot with more than three decades in aviation, gave an emotional interview describing what he said was the painful collapse of his marriage.

In that interview, he alleged that family properties had been registered in his wife's name, recounted donating a kidney to one of their sons, and described bitter disputes over matrimonial property that eventually led to criminal and civil court cases.

He also claimed that an argument at the family home culminated in assault allegations and years of legal battles that transformed a private family conflict into a public dispute.

Following the publication of his account, Lucy Nongari granted her own interview disputing several of her husband's claims.

She maintained that many of the family's assets had been built through their joint efforts over decades, describing herself as an active financial contributor while working as a teacher before later becoming the director of a private school.

Nongari also offered a different account of the events leading to the breakdown of the marriage, arguing that financial pressures, business challenges and years of unresolved disagreements lay at the heart of the dispute.

Her interview also addressed allegations surrounding the family home, property ownership and the confrontation that ultimately resulted in criminal proceedings.

Parallel legal battles continue

The latest court proceedings underscore the increasingly complex legal dispute between the estranged couple, with each facing separate criminal matters arising from the same family conflict.

While the court emphasised that the merits of the allegations will only be determined during trial, Tuesday's ruling cleared the way for the prosecution against Nongari to proceed while reaffirming the constitutional principle that court proceedings should generally remain open to public scrutiny.

As both criminal cases continue through the courts, the once-private dispute between one of Kenya's veteran aviators and his estranged wife remains one of the country's most closely followed family legal battles.