Willie Kimani Murder: Death Sentence for Leliman

Fredrick ole Leliman, a police officer suspected of masterminding the 2016 slayings of Lawyer Willie Kimani, his client Josephat Mwenda, and driver Joseph Muiruri, has been sentenced to death.

Justice Jessie Lessit, who delivered the long-awaited verdict on Friday, singled out Leliman for acting “in flagrant abuse of his office” as a police officer and masterminding the murder.

Stephen Cheburet Morogo and Sylvia Wanjohi, Leliman’s former colleagues and co-accused who were also found guilty of the murder, were sentenced to 30 and 24 years in prison, respectively.

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Simultaneously, their informant, who is believed to have facilitated the execution of the three’s brutal mother, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

According to Justice Lessit, the killings of Lawyer Willie Kimani, his client Josephat Mwenda, and driver Joseph Muiruri were “a foulest murder, a most heinous execution.”

The accused have 14 days to file an appeal.

The prosecution called 46 witnesses to testify against the accused, who called 36 witnesses to defend themselves against the charges.

On June 23, 2016, Willie Kimani, his client Mwenda, and the taxi driver were abducted after leaving Mavoko Law Courts in Machakos County. They were leaving a Mavoko courtroom where Mwenda had filed a case against Fredrick Leliman.

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The three were bundled into a vehicle and driven to the Syokimau Police Station, where they were imprisoned before being smuggled out and driven to a location where they were brutally murdered.

Their lifeless bodies were placed in sacks and transported to a river in Ol Donyo Sabuk, where they were dumped before being discovered a week later on June 30 and July 1, 2016.

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