The High Court in Kiambu County on Tuesday, May 2, sentenced a police officer attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) to 30 years in prison after he was accused of killing a businessman William Mwangi Kimani for refusing to buy him a bottle of beer.
In a statement by the International Justice Mission Kenya, Lady Justice Mary Kasango deemed that sufficient evidence was presented to convict the officer linked to the businessman's demise on August 27, 2017.
In her judgment, Justice Kasango affirmed that the cop acted against the law by using excessive force yet he was faced with no danger.
"Having convicted him of murder and considering what is discussed above, the appropriate sentence is imprisonment for 30 years," the judge noted.
"It is not in doubt that the shooting was by a serving police officer, who should have protected him." Justice Kasango ruled while noting that the conviction and sentencing should act as a deterrent to the crime of murder.
" In calculating the sentence, the prison authority shall give him a credit of 3 years and 10 months, which is the period he has been in custody awaiting the completion of his trial," she added
Fourteen witnesses from the prosecution side were lined up to testify against the accused while one witness, a police officer, defended him.
Evidence presented in court indicated that Kimani, a building and construction engineer, was shot dead inside his car as he drove away from a local club in Limuru town, Kiambu County before daybreak, where he had been drinking and watching football matches with his friends.
The scuffle ensued after the businessman reportedly declined to buy the police officer alcohol, prompting the club's security guards to intervene and eject the officer from the club.
Court reports pointed out that the officer approached Kimani's vehicle as he was reversing out of the parking lot and shot him seven times through the front passenger window, killing him instantly.
According to IJM, the accused immediately left the scene and locked himself in his house while declining to surrender. This forced police officers to use tear gas to flush him from his hideout.
The officer later faced murder charges after a recommendation by the DCI, and approval by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
