Two police officers who were found guilty of manslaughter in the killing of businesswoman Janet Waiyaki at Nairobi's City Park have been sentenced.
High Court judge Stella Mutuku on Thursday, May 27, directed that William Chirchir and Godfrey Kirui be sentenced to seven years in jail.
In her ruling on Tuesday, May 11, Mutuku stated that the constables shot at the businesswoman and her nephew, with the intent of killing them.
"They acted recklessly and shot at the aim of killing. There was no shooting from inside the vehicle. By using the firearms to stop the car, they used force and acted contrary to the law," she ruled.
Appearing in court on Thursday, May 13, the duo pleaded with the court to issue a non-custodial sentence.
They acknowledged that they should have acted differently on the fateful day.
"I am a father to two children aged seven and one-year-old and an elderly mother who also depends on me," Chirchir pleaded.
On his part, Kirui indicated that he was also a father of two and has been taking care of two of his siblings.
The prosecution, however, asked the court to take into consideration that Waiyaki had died at the age of 41, leaving behind two children.
“The children will live the rest of their lives without the care of a mother. The young one has been waiting for the mother to come back,” the prosecutor said.
On the fateful day, Waiyaki was in the company of her nephew Bernard Chege in a car at the park when the duo shot at them.
The officers had fired bullets from an AK47 riffle, killing Waiyaki on the spot and injuring her nephew who survived with gunshot wounds.
