What began as a string of violent night robberies tied to the 2015 killing of former Kabete MP George Muchai has now ended in court with four accused persons receiving death sentences after a Nairobi court ruled on a long-running criminal case built on extensive evidence and multiple witness accounts.
Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina on Thursday delivered the judgment after finding six people guilty of offences linked to armed robberies that happened on the nights of February 6 and 7, 2015. The court heard that the attacks left victims losing property worth about Sh1.1 million, including vehicles, mobile phones, a laptop, a gas cylinder and cash.
The court sentenced Erick Munyera, Raphael Kimani, Mustafa Kimani and Stephen Asitiva to death after convicting them on the main charge of robbery with violence.
Jane Wanjiru and Margaret Njeri were each sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
While issuing the sentence, Magistrate Onyina said the court had considered mitigation arguments from defence lawyers, submissions from the Director of Public Prosecutions, pre-sentencing reports, and the period the accused had already spent in custody since their arrest.
“I have taken into account the submissions made by counsels for the accused persons and the DPP. The court is unable to interfere with the position on the death sentence as provided by law,” Magistrate Onyina ruled.
The court noted that all six convicts had pleaded for leniency and were treated as first offenders since no previous criminal records were presented against them. The time they had spent in remand during the trial was also taken into account.
Magistrate Onyina further observed that the robberies were carried out in a coordinated manner and involved victims being abducted during the attacks, making the offences particularly grave.
"While the first, second, third, and fourth convicts have mitigated remorse, the offences are very serious, and the victims also deserve justice. The offences were committed with utmost impunity, armed with rifles previously robbed from a police officer," the magistrate said.
He added that since the main count attracted the death sentence, the other charges would not be separately enforced as they had been overtaken by the main ruling.
On the firearms and ammunition produced as exhibits, the court ordered that they be forfeited to the State, although the order will only take effect after the conclusion of an ongoing High Court murder trial involving four of the accused persons.
The six convicts — Erick Munyera, Raphael Kimani, Mustafa Kimani, Stephen Asitiva, Jane Wanjiru and Margaret Njeri — were linked to the violent robberies committed in February 2015, during which victims lost property valued at about Sh1.1 million.
The prosecution called 36 witnesses in an effort to connect the accused persons to the offences.
The case is linked to the killing of former Kabete MP George Muchai, his two police bodyguards Constable Samuel Kimathi and Constable Samuel Lekakeny, and driver Stephen Ituu Wambugu along Kenyatta Avenue in 2015.
In a related High Court matter, Justice Kanyi Kimondo had earlier ruled that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against Munyera, Raphael Kimani, Mustafa Kimani and Asitiva, who are still facing a murder trial over the same incident.
