Leliman sentenced to death in Willie Kimani murder case; three others to serve prison term.
Friday, 3 February, 2023
High Court has sentence Fredrick ole Leliman, a police officer believed to have been the mastermind of the brutal murder of Lawyer Willie Kimani, his client Josephat Mwenda and driver Joseph Muiruri in 2016 to death.
While passing the sentence, justice Jessie Lessit said the murder was carefully planned and executed. She said Mwenda was Leliman’s target due to his personal vendetta against him for reporting him to IPOA and IJM in another case. Kimani and Muiruri were collateral.
“The lawyer and the driver were collateral damage, not to mean that Mwenda deserved the brutal murder,” she said.
Lessit also singled out Leliman’s flagrant abuse of his office as a police officer and masterminding the murder.
Leliman’s former colleagues and co-accused Stephen Cheburet Morogo Lelei and Sylvia Wanjiru Wanjohi who were also convicted in the case have been sentenced to 30 and 24 years respectively.
At the same time, their informant, Peter Ngugi, who is believed to have facilitated the execution of the brutal murder was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Justice Lessit said the killing of Lawyer Kimani, his client Mwenda and the driver Muiruri was “a most foul murder, an execution that was most heinous.”
The accused have 14 days to appeal the ruling.
The prosecution produced in court 46 witnesses to testify against the accused persons who in their defense brought forth 36 witnesses to defend them from the charges.
Lawyer Willie Kimani, his client Mwenda and the taxi driver were abducted after leaving Mavoko Law Courts in Machakos County on June 23, 2016.
They were leaving a court session in Mavoko where Mwenda had filed a case against Fredrick Leliman.
The three were bundled into a vehicle and taken to Syokimau Police Post where they were locked up before they were later smuggled out and driven to a location where they were brutally murdered.
Their lifeless bodies were stashed in sacks and transported to a river in Ol Donyo Sabuk where they were dumped only to be recovered a week later on June 30 and July 1, 2016.sai
