The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) welcomed the verdict by the court Friday to sentence to death a police officer for the brutal killing of human rights lawyer Willie Kimani, his client and driver.
The authority said it serves as a deterrent to law enforcement officers who use their power to infringe on the rights of citizens.
Kimani, his client Josephat Mwenda and driver Joseph Muiruri were found murdered after being abducted in 2016 in Mlolongo, Machakos County.
Court of Appeal Judge Jessie Lessit Friday sentenced to death former police Sergeant Fredrick Leliman saying he was the mastermind of the killings.
The gist of the murder trial was a plot to silence Mwenda, a bodaboda rider who, before his death, had complained with the IPOA against Leliman.
The others jailed are Stephen Cheburet Morogo (30 years) and Sylvia Wanjiku Wanjohi (24 years), as well as police informer Peter Ngungi Kamau (20 years).
On July 22, 2022, Leliman was found guilty alongside his colleagues Stephen Cheburet Morogo, Sylvia Wanjiku Wanjohi, and police informer Peter Ngungi Kamau.
“The Court has pronounced itself, and the Authority expresses satisfaction with the verdict and sentences. We agree with the Court in meting out sentences commensurate with the gravity of the matter. It should serve not only as a relief to the relatives, friends, and colleagues of the deceased persons but a deterrent to law enforcement officers who use their power to infringe on the rights of citizens as well as frustrate efforts of the agencies that the
public looks up to when seeking redress for their grievances”.
“Mwenda was plotted and planned to compromise an IPOA investigation, in which the first convict, Leliman was accused of using a privately-owned firearm to shoot an injure Mr. Mwenda. The other two victims were collateral damages,” IPOA said.
The oversight body also thanked partners who concluded this matter possible, including the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions and the International Justice Mission, as well as the professional officers of the National Police Service.
