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On July 22, three officers and a civilian were found guilty in the murder case of lawyer Willie Kimani, his client Josephat Mwenda and their driver Joseph Muiruri.
Justice Jessie Lessit declared that officers Fredrick Leliman, Stephen Cheburet, Sylvia Wanjiku and an informer named Peter Ngugi had planned the murders. The court could not gather sufficient evidence against officer Leonard Mwangi, and so he has been set free. During the trial, Lessit noted:
"I find that the first accused had a reason to silence the deceased because his job was on the line due to the case Mwenda lodged at IPOA... I find that the first accused (Leliman) is the only one among the five accused who had a motive to kill the Mwenda."
Exploring Willie Kimani's brutal murder case
As the historic judgement was passed, many social media users are recalling the brutal murders and how they were carried out.
As per the publication Kenyans, in 2015, Josephat Mwenda was accidentally shot by officer Fredrick Leliman as he was stopped by the police while riding his motorbike. Mwenda was falsely charged for resisting arrest when he filed a complaint with Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA).
When International Justice Mission took over the case, it was assigned to lawyer Willie Kimani. Mwenda's legal team faced many challenges to put him under witness protection when he received threats from officer Leliman. However, the latter was eventually summoned by IPOA over complaints of misconduct.
In April 2016, lawyer Willie Kimani and his client Josephat Mwenda were then detained after a court hearing in Mavoko where the police officers concerned explained that the two were being interrogated over a robbery case in Meru. However, both Kimani and Mwenda were later released.
On June 23, 2016, lawyer Kimani, his client Mwenda, and their taxi driver Muiruri were abducted as they left court. They were allegedly killed by the police officers around 10pm. The Internatonal Justice Mission, on the other hand, had launched a full-fledged search team for the three men.
IJM then filed a missing persons report for Willie Kimani, Josephat Mwenda, and Joseph Muiruri, and hired detectives to begin investigations on the case. However, on June 30, 2016, Kimani, Mwenda, and Muiruri's bodies were found in gunny bags in a river near Ol Donyo Sabuk.
Netizens react to the historic verdict
Twitter has been lauding Justice Jessie Lessit and praying for the deceased after the recent judgement. Many netizens have come forward in support of the deceased and hailed Kenya's justice system on this grand verdict.
From November 2016 to July 2022, the trial saw 44 witnesses testify against the five accused. However, Willie Kimani's murder verdict was finally passed after six years of waiting.
