The trial of the Ugandan man accused of murdering his wife will take place in January next year.
David Nsubuga Kikaawa, 38, is alleged to have stabbed Linah Keza to death in front of her two-year-old daughter in the early hours of July 31.
British press reported that Kikaawa appeared before the Thames Magistrates’ Court via video link and spoke only to confirm his name.
He is expected to return to court on October 22 for a plea and case management hearing. The actual trial was provisionally scheduled for January 6 2014.
The neighbors called Police after they heard Keza scream repeatedly.
She was found with stab wounds to her chest at her home in King Edward Road, Leyton, East London and was pronounced dead at the scene.
After he committed the murder, Kikaawa disappeared, but was arrested shortly after.
Keza had reportedly abandoned Kikaawa for new love. After the separation, Kikaawa lived in West London while the deceased lived in East London.
The Rwandan community in London was trying to raise money to have Keza’s body returned to Rwanda for burial. Keza, was a contestant in Miss Africa beauty pageant in 2010.
Meanwhile, media reported that the police watchdog the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) was investigating contact between police and Keza before she died.
The IPCC said officers had contact with her on three separate occasions in the days before she was killed.
By Raymond Baguma and Agencies, The New Vision