4 Police Officers in Willy Kimani Murder to Face Trial

An undated image of Lawyer Willy Kimani
An undated image of Lawyer Willy Kimani
File

Four police officers and a police informer implicated in the murder of lawyer Willy Kimani have a case to answer.

According to the ruling made on Monday, September 20, Justice Jessie Lessit, found the officers had a case to answer in relation to the murders of lawyer Kimani, his client Josephat Mwenda and taxi driver Joseph Muiruri.

The five accused will now be placed on defence.

"I have evaluated the evidence adduced by the state. I find that prosecution has established a prima facie case against all the accused persons. I accordingly place them on their defence," Justice Lessit ruled.

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Police officers patrolling in Nairobi
File

The court heard that all the accused persons will be giving sworn defence evidence in the matter and each will be allowed to line up their witnesses.

The prosecution closed its case on Friday, September 17, after calling 46 witnesses to testify.

After the court ruling, the prosecution sought to be supplied with all the accused persons and defence witnesses' statements and any other evidence material that would be used in the trial.

The Judge ruled that the defence hearing would start on Monday, September 27.

Lawyer Kimani was murdered in 2016 together with his client Mwenda and taxi driver Muiruri. The lawyer had filed a complaint against a senior police officer accused of shooting his then client, a boda boda rider. 

Reports indicated that the three were kidnapped after leaving the Mavoko Law Courts on June 23, 2016 only for their bodies to be found in River Ol Donyo Sabuk days later.

Three years later, after a protracted court battle, a video reconstruction of lawyer Willy Kimani's gruesome murder was produced in court as evidence.

In the video, the police informant, who had confessed to having aided in the murder, gave a detailed account how the plan was hatched by Administration police officers to carry out the heinous crime.  

The video was, however, dismissed by Justice Lessit due to a breach of protocol. This was attributed to an error by forensics officer, Joseph Muindi, during the submission of the video as evidence. 

"The law requires that when the officer decides to have the suspect take him to the scene and record, he has to take another qualified officer. He cannot be involved during the exercise,” Justice Lessit ruled.

Undated file image of a gavel on the bench in the courtroom
File image of a gavel on the bench in the courtroom
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