A man convicted of the murder of leading freedom fighter Pio Gama Pinto has been awarded Sh2.5 Million after being tortured while in custody by the police,
Justice John Mativo awarded Mr Kisilu Mutua a Sh2.5 Million compensation after he demonstrated that he was tortured by the police who squeezed his testicles until he lost consciousness while in detention.
Mutua stated to the court that he was arrested while drinking at the Rwathia Bar with friends over claims that he had assassinated the freedom fighter.
He said that he was taken to Eastleigh police station, where his testicles were squeezed mercilessly and his toes thrashed with a rungu.
Mutua revealed that he was also interrogated and tortured by European officers who wanted him to confess to murdering Pinto.
Justice Mativo ruled that the incarceration of Mutua was unlawful and the torture meted on him was in violation of his Constitutional rights.
“I am persuaded the petitioner proved to the required standard that his rights were violated by the police, considering the nature of torture meted out to him during the time of arrest and when he was taken to court to face murder charge,” the judge stated.
Kisilu Mutua was sentenced to death in 1965, following Pinto’s assassination but was pardoned by former President Daniel Moi after serving 35 years in jail.
Pio Gama Pinto, a Kenyan of Asian origin, was gunned down as he drove out of his house in a Nairobi suburb.
