A Kenyan man has been arrested in Connecticut, United States after he allegedly tried to hire a hit man to execute murder of a female relative who was set to testify against him in court.

The 52-year-old identified as Leonard Thuo Mwithiga and a former manager at a top Kenyan bank is said to continuously request for help from an Uber driver him with a hit man from September 9 to December 1, 2023.

The Court documents revealed that the suspect wanted a hit man to kill the alleged female member and promised to pay the murderer Kshs609,000

According to a Connecticut media outlet, the man had suggested that the woman could be injected with something that would kill her slowly “like a cancer”.

“He also discussed with the driver various ways to kill the victim, including drugs or poison, the report stated. Mwithiga said he wanted the driver to find someone to kill the victim because police could not connect the driver to him,” the outlet reports.

At the time of arrest on Monday, Mwithiga was in a hotel room in Putnam, where he had been staying.

He wanted the murder to be executed between January 28 and February 3 while he is in Kenya so that he is not linked to it.

It was noted that an undercover police posed as a hit man and the banker fell for the trap.

Upon arrest, the suspect was charged with criminal attempt at intimidation of a witness, conspiracy to commit murder and criminal attempt at murder with special circumstances. The judge during the hearing noted that the incident was bot an accident since it was a plan that had enlisted other individuals.

The court also ordered him to surrender all his firearms and keep his distance from any victims and/or witnesses.

The suspect after a successful negotiation by the prosecutor was released under a $5 million bond which amounts to about Ksh. 762 million after saying that Mwithiga was a flight risk since he frequently travelled back and forth from Kenya.

Mwithiga pleaded not guilty adding that he was a manager at a bank in Kenya where he was a holder of a degree from a reputable university. The case is set to be heard on January 26, 2024.