A High Court in Nyeri on Wednesday set free a man who was accused of killing his three nieces after police messed up the investigation.
When releasing Andrew Sukunwa, Justice Teresiah Matheka noted that the court found out that the police had indeed not investigated the murders.
The Justice also stated that apart from the death of the three children, the prosecution failed to prove that Sukunwa was the one who locked the girls in the house doused it with petrol and set it ablaze.
Nation reported that the former Kenya power security guard had been accused of starting a house fire that killed the three girls aged between one year and four years on March 16, 2016.
Justice Matheka went ahead to accuse the police of laxity and over-relying on relatives testimonies despite the strained relationship between Sukunwa and his in-laws since he was separated from his wife Josephine Wangechi.
The court heard that the suspect had argued with the mother of the three children before threatening his mother-in-law.
The court went on to state that the evidence showed that there were inconsistencies in the prosecution's case.
“It was for the prosecution to establish that this would be a basis for the accused person to kill his three nieces yet he had no grudge with their mother. Allegation of grudges between him and his parents-in-law were all hearsay,” stated Justice Matheka.
Despite the children having died in their grandmother's house, none of Sukunwa’s in-laws testified or recorded a statement with the police.
In their defense, investigating Officer Constable Ferdinand Kazungu testified that Sukunwa had confessed to the police officer at the OB desk, a Police Constable Mgandi, to having committed the crime.