Victim's Widow Collapses in Court During Willie Kimani Sentencing

Josephat Mwenda's wife, on Friday, February 3, passed out after being consumed by grief during the sentencing of four suspects in the murder of Lawyer Willy Kimani, her husband and a taxi driver.  

The overwhelmed widow followed the proceedings before bending her head toward the floor, but could not withstand the raw emotions as Justice Jessie Lessit described the gruesome murder. 

She also appeared visibly distraught as she followed the court proceedings. Suddenly, she fell off her chair as other court attendees rushed to save her from an imminent fall. 

A collage of the late lawyer Willie Kimani

File

Too weak to stand alone, other court attendees lifted her and took her out of the room, where she was offered basic first-aid medication. 

It was not immediately clear if she was rushed to the hospital for emergency medical services. 

In 2016, Josephat Mwenda procured the legal services of Lawyer Willie Kimani after receiving threats from a police officer who was later accused of killing the two alongside their taxi driver, Joseph Muiruri. 

The bodies of the three men were later recovered from the Ol-Donyo Sabuk River in Machakos Country. 

A post-mortem examination later revealed that Willie Kimani, Josephat Mwenda and Josephat Muiruri were brutally beaten and tortured before being killed.  

On Friday, February 3, 2023, Justice Jessie Lessit sentenced the main suspect in the case, Fredrick Leliman, to death, the second accused, Stephen Cheburet, to 30 years, Sylvia Wanjiku to 24 years, and informer Peter Ngugi to 20 years.

“First accused is sentenced to death in each of the three counts, the second accused is sentenced to thirty years imprisonment in each of the three terms with the prison terms running concurrently.

"The third accused is sentenced to 24 years imprisonment in each of the three counts with the prison terms running concurrently and the fifth accused is sentenced to twenty years imprisonment,” Justice Jessie Lessit stated.

The accused persons in the murder of lawyer Willie Kimani from left are Peter Ngugi, Leonard Mwangi, Stephen Cheburet and Fredrick Leliman during the final judgement at Milimani law courts on Friday, July 22, 2022

Kenyans.co.ke