Killer neighbours who killed a woman for testifying against them have been found culpable.
The three Daniel Karonji, David Gituku and Daniel Wachira were convicted at Nyeri High Court for killing Lucy Wangui at her home at Gatuiga village in Nyeri County on September 3, 2010.
“In the ultimate I find the accused guilty of the offence of murder as defined under section 203 of the Penal Code and convict them accordingly,” ruled Judge Ngaah Jairus.
The prosecution case was told the accused were on a revenge mission; they attacked the deceased because the latter had previously complained and testified against Karonji and Gituku in Nyeri Chief Magistrates’ Court Criminal Case No. 5461 of 2003.
In that case, the accused were charged with robbery with violence contrary. They were alleged to have robbed the deceased and injured her in the process.
They were convicted and sentenced to death; however, they lodged a successful appeal against both the conviction and sentence. They were retried and subsequently acquitted on August 5, 2010, just about four weeks before the deceased was attacked.
The court was told that Wangui (deceased) suffered multiple cut wounds and burns on different parts of her body and the injuries turned out to be fatal as she succumbed and died four days later, on September 7, 2010.
The accused were her neighbours.