The four officers accused of killing Nairobi lawyer Willie Kimani—Fredrick Leliman (the primary suspect), Stephen Cheburet, Sylvia Wanjiku, and informant Peter Ngugi—were sentenced on Friday, February 3.
Leliman was given a death sentence by Justice Jessie Lessit in her decision, while the second defendant was given a 30-year prison term.
While the police informant received a 20-year sentence, the third defendant will serve 24 years in prison.
“The first accused is condemned to death on each of the three offenses, while the second accused is given a concurrent 30-year sentence on each of the three counts.
The third defendant received concurrent sentences of 24 years in jail for each of the three crimes, while the fifth defendant received a 20-year sentence from Justice Jessie Lessit.
Lessit said that Sylvia Wanjiru was the group’s youngest member and a junior at the time of the crime. She did, however, play a part that the judge deemed inadmissible.
The court also took into account the informer Peter Ngugi’s confession, noting that it provided the police with a breakthrough in the investigation.
“His admission influenced the investigation. Nothing dark that he colored white was not his doing “Lessit explained.
Justice Lessit instructed the prison service to take into account how much time each accused had been detained while the case was pending.
Lessit also awarded the four a two-week window to challenge the verdict and their conviction.
Within 14 days of the verdict today, they have the option to appeal both the conviction and the punishment, according to Lessit.
The four killed attorney Willie Kimani, his client Josephat Mwendwa, and taxi driver Joseph Muiruri in 2016, and their remains were discovered in a river in Ol Donyo Sabuk in July of that same year.
When boda boda rider Josephat Mwenda was unintentionally shot by officer Fredrick Leliman in 2015, Kimani’s case got started.
Mwendwa was the target of threats and intimidation from the officer engaged in the case as she sought justice.
In an effort to have allegations against Leliman dropped, the boda boda rider was wrongly prosecuted in court and represented by attorney Kimani, who then took up the case.
After years of hearings, Lessit declared them guilty of murder on July 2, 221.
