The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has urged the Supreme Court to dismiss an appeal by former Venezuelan Embassy First Secretary Dwight Sagaray and uphold his 20-year prison sentence for the murder of ambassador Olga Fonseca Jimenez in Nairobi in July 2012.
In a statement on October 12, 2026, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) said sufficient evidence supported the conviction and that Sagaray’s diplomatic status did not shield him from prosecution.
The petition, dated August 7, 2026, challenges a Court of Appeal judgment delivered on March 7, 2025, which upheld the convictions and sentences arising from the killing.
In written submissions before the Supreme Court in Petition No. E030 of 2026, the prosecution argued that communication from Venezuelan authorities terminating Sagaray’s diplomatic mission and cancelling his diplomatic passport brought his diplomatic functions to an end.
The DPP maintained that any remaining immunity did not protect Sagaray from prosecution for acts outside his diplomatic duties. Sagaray, however, disputes the jurisdiction of Kenyan courts, arguing that Venezuela did not expressly waive his immunity.
Fonseca was found murdered at her official residence in Nairobi’s Runda estate on Friday, July 27, 2012, less than two weeks after arriving in Kenya to take charge of Venezuela’s diplomatic mission.
The career diplomat had arrived on July 15 to replace Gerardo Carrillo-Silva, who had left the post following allegations of sexual harassment made by Kenyan male employees at the embassy. Contemporary reports said Fonseca was expected to take charge of the mission and address the dispute involving the staff.
Her appointment was followed by tensions over the leadership and management of the embassy. Investigators suspected that the killing was linked to a struggle for control of the mission, with Sagaray, who had been serving as First Secretary, accused of resisting Fonseca’s authority.
Fonseca was found strangled in her bedroom, with her hands reportedly bound. The circumstances surrounding her death prompted Kenyan police to investigate embassy staff and other people suspected of involvement.
Sagaray was arrested on Saturday, July 28, 2012, and appeared in court the following Monday as investigators sought more time to complete inquiries and pursue other suspects.
Prosecutors charged Sagaray alongside Kenyan nationals Ahmed Mujivane Omido, Alex Sifuma Wanyonyi and Moses Kiprotich Kalya. Mohammed Ahmed Mohammed Hassan, described in court proceedings as a suspected co-conspirator, was also charged but remained at large.
The murder case, filed in 2012, took more than a decade to reach judgment. On Wednesday, January 25, 2023, the High Court convicted Sagaray and the three Kenyan co-accused, finding that the prosecution had proved the murder charge against them.
The court concluded that the evidence established a common plan to kill Fonseca and linked the crime to the conflict surrounding her assumption of control of the embassy. It also ruled that Sagaray could be tried in Kenya because Venezuela's action had ended his diplomatic immunity.
Kipng’eno Kirui Chelogoi, another accused person, was acquitted after the court found the evidence against him insufficient to meet the required legal standard. The court sentenced the four convicted men to 20 years in prison. The warrant for Hassan’s arrest remained in force.
Sagaray appealed, but the Court of Appeal dismissed the challenge on March 7, 2025, affirming the convictions and sentences. The appellate court held that Venezuela’s termination of his service and cancellation of his diplomatic passport removed the basis for his immunity.
In July 2026, the Court of Appeal certified the intended appeals to the Supreme Court as raising matters of general public importance. The issues include diplomatic immunity, common intention and the evidential role of motive in criminal proceedings.
Sagaray argues that the courts relied on motive, perceived benefit and his association with Hassan rather than sufficient evidence directly connecting him to the murder. The prosecution maintains that the circumstantial evidence must be considered collectively.
The ODPP maintained that the Supreme Court Deputy Registrar had referred the petition to the Deputy Chief Justice for empanelment of a bench and further directions.