Former Kenya Sevens rugby player Alex Olaba has suffered a major legal defeat after the High Court dismissed his appeal, upholding a six-year prison sentence for allegedly attempting to kill a witness in a gang-rape case against him.
In a ruling, the High Court stated that the trial Court's conviction was well-grounded and the prosecution had produced enough evidence to link Olaba to eliminating the witness.
Among the evidence recorded were conversations that were recorded and a Ksh10,000 down payment, which was made to an undercover police officer.
“I found from the evidence that PW2 met PW3 and discussed the commission of the offence, which had been previously discussed with the appellant. PW3 was a police officer disguised as a hitman,” the court stated.
The judge noted that the trial magistrate had given a fair and proportionate consideration to Olaba’s defence, his submission and mitigating factors before imposing sentence.
In February 2018, Olaba and another suspect, Lawrence Wanyama, were accused of gang raping a woman in Highrise estate, Nairobi.
During their initial trial, both denied the charges, and after the proceedings, they were convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison each.
In June 2020, the two challenged the ruling, however, their rape convictions were quashed, ordering retrials, but before the retrial could be concluded, one of them was arrested in 2021 over allegations of plotting to kill a key witness.
The police officer claimed that Olaba had sought the service of a hitman who ended up being an undercover officer.
In May 2023, Olaba was convicted of threatening a witness and sentenced to six years in prison. He appealed that sentence, arguing there was weak evidence and that the trial court had misapplied the law.
On October 2, 2025, the Nairobi Court set February 9, 2026, as the date for the retrial in a gang rape matter involving Olaba and Wanyama.
Oloba is currently serving his six-year sentence and now faces two legal fronts: a sentence for attempting to eliminate a witness and defending himself in the renewed rape trial in 2026.
