Two men accused of robbing and killing an engineer with the Ministry of Energy before fleeing with his vehicle six years ago were yesterday sentenced to life imprisonment by a Nyeri court.
Nyeri Chief Magistrate, Wendy Kagendo condemned Paul Kinuthia and James King’ori to life in jail after finding them guilty of robbery with violence and murder of George Gikonyo on October 14, 2015.
Ms. Kagaendo however acquitted the third accused, Simon Makato, who became state witness and testified against the two.
The duo had been charged that on October 13, 2015, at Skuta area on the outskirts of Nyeri Town, they violently robbed Gikonyo, a former civil servant based at Wambugu Agricultural Training College of his vehicle before killing him.
Gikonyo, 52, was carjacked in Nyeri Town and his body was later found dumped near Hohwe Dam along the busy Nyeri-Karatina-Nairobi Highway with a rope tied around the neck and hands at the back.
The suspects were later arrested at a roadblock in Ruiru Town along Thika Superhighway after police intercepted the stolen vehicle belonging to Gikonyo. The vehicle (Toyota Harrier) had been fitted with a tracking system.
While delivering the sentence, the Chief Magistrate described the duo as dangerous persons who deserved to be kept away from the society for a long time owing to the nature and gravity of the crime.
“The two have chosen a life of violence and it’s only fair that they be put away in jail and from the rest of the community,” Ms. Kagendo ruled.
She also took into consideration that the first suspect, Kinuthia, had previously been convicted for a similar offense by a Thika court and jailed for 15 years. King’ori who was his co-accused in the case was however acquitted.
The prosecution had in their submission asked the court to hand them a sentence of up to 90 years to act as a deterrent.
“He was assaulted, drugged and violently killed even as he begged the two to spare his life. It was painful considering he was only 52 and had a wife and three children who depended on him,” State Counsel Kennedy Magoma explained.
The court ruled that all the ingredients of robbery with violence had been proved beyond reasonable doubt with strong evidence from 11 witnesses as well as their co- accused who testified against them.
The court further established that the second accused was found wearing the deceased’s jacket with his driving license inside as well as stupefying drugs.