High Court judge Justice Kanyi Kimondo has ordered the detention of John Matara, the prime suspect in the murder of socialite Starlet Wahu, until May 9 when his bail application will come up for hearing.

Kimondo issued the directive on Monday when he deferred a scheduled hearing after the State failed to present a pre-bail report.

He ordered the detention of Matara at Nairobi’s Industrial Area Remand and Allocation Centre after his lawyer said he could not argue the application for bail without referring to the pre-bail report.

Samuel Ayora, the advocate, pointed out that the report would affect how the application turned out.

In instructions dated February 26, Justice Kimondo instructed Probation Service to provide the pre-bail report by March 18.

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Nonetheless, the Probation Department asked for two more weeks to complete the paperwork.

Ayora criticized the request for additional time, saying it was unjust to his client.

Due to an impending break, Justice Kimondo explained the May 9 court date assignment.

A notice distributed to court users states that judges would be on recess from April 2 to April 30.