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Two former administration police officers who were found guilty of manslaughter charges will know their fate on May 27 when the High Court hands the sentences.
Justice Stella Mutuku convicted constables William Chirchir and Godfrey Kirui for killing Janet Waiyaki at City Park in Nairobi on May 20, 2018.
She was in a car with her nephew, Bernard Chege, at bout 10.30am they they were shot at.
On Thursday, the two told court that they were deeply sorry for committing the offence.
“My lady, if we could turn back time, a lot of things would be done differently,” they told Justice Mutuku through their lawyer.
While praying for a lenient sentence, Chirchir, 36, said he had been in service for 10 years, doesn’t have previous criminal record and has tried to serve the country.
He added that he has been taking care of his two siblings, has acute ulcers and is on medication.
His family, the lawyer says, relies on him. His mother, a widow aged 75 years, also has ulcers and requires medical care.
The second convict Kirui, who is 28 years old, has been in service for six years. He is married and has two children, seven years and another aged one.
“We are pleading for mercy your honour as you make your sentencing. If they were on a mission, and their mission was to protect the country, the circumstances they found themselves in on that day was not usual. Terrorism does not occur every day,” their lawyer told court.
The two pleaded for a non-custodial sentence saying the incident was not intentional.
The lawyer argued that there was very limited time for anyone to act as dictated by the oath.
“They are deeply and genuinely remorseful,” he added.
“If sentenced to serve their term in jail, they might eventually lose their job and benefit and that is what their family members rely on,” the lawyer says.
However, Wiyaki’s husband mitigated that the court should consider the victims as the death of his wife was a premature one. The life cannot be brought back.
“A young life was lost. We call on you to make a sentencing that will serve justice,” he said.
“Consider she was 41 years, she left very young children. Eldest 12 years. The children will live the rest of their lives without the care of a mother. The young one aged four, has been waiting for the mother to come back,” the court was told.
The court heard that the husband was left without a life partner and now takes care of the children alone.
He added that the court should also consider that the death of Waiyaki left disagreements with in-laws which have resulted into multiple court cases.
“The victims, all of them, mother, husband and children have suffered immense psychological trauma. We urge you to consider all these,” he added.
On May 11, Mutuku convicted the officers, ruling that the force used was not proportional.
While convicting them on manslaughter, the judge said the intention was not to kill the woman, as the officers were reacting to a terrorism alert in the area.
“This brings me to the conclusion the offence proved by the evidence before me is that of manslaughter and not murder by absence of the element of malice aforethought,” she ruled.
The judge said the accused acted recklessly and shot at the vehicle without considering their actions might result in injuring or killing an innocent occupant.
She said no offence had been committed by the victim and there was no threat from her and the other occupant after the vehicle drove off to flee the area.
Chege and Waiyaki did not resist the attempts by the police to arrest them.
-Edited by SKanyara
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