Court Convicts Suspect in 11-Year-Old 'No-Body' Killing of Prison Officer

The High Court in Meru has convicted and sentenced Lochuku Lekepei to 10 years in prison for the manslaughter of Morris Munene Mate, an Isiolo GK Prison officer who disappeared in 2015 and whose body was never recovered. 

In a statement on Thursday, August 6, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said the court found that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that the prison officer died as a result of an unlawful act despite the absence of his body.

"A decade-long pursuit for justice has finally borne fruit after the High Court in Meru sentenced Lochuku Lekepei to 10 years imprisonment for manslaughter over the 2015 disappearance and death of Morris Munene Mate, an Isiolo GK Prison officer whose body was never recovered," the statement read.

The DCI said the conviction followed extensive investigations by homicide detectives, who pieced together the case using forensic findings and circumstantial evidence.

"The conviction marks the culmination of painstaking investigations by Homicide detectives, who relied on forensic and circumstantial evidence to unravel the mystery surrounding the complex case despite the absence of the victim's body and the lack of any witness who saw the deceased's body," the statement added.

The agency added that the court was satisfied the available evidence established that Mate died as a result of an unlawful act, prompting the court to replace the initial murder charge with a manslaughter conviction.

"Although the victim’s body was never found, the court was satisfied that the evidence proved beyond reasonable doubt that he died as a result of an unlawful act. As a result, the court substituted the original murder charge with a conviction for manslaughter," the statement further read.

Investigations established that Morris disappeared on July 23, 2015, after travelling to Oldonyiro in Isiolo North Sub-County on a business trip. 

During the investigation, detectives recovered his blood-stained clothing and a blood-stained stone at the Mlima wa Chui area.

The DCI said forensic examinations confirmed the recovered exhibits belonged to the missing prison officer and further placed the convict in communication with the victim and within the same location shortly before his disappearance.

"DNA analysis conducted confirmed that the blood and other items recovered belonged to the missing prison officer, while forensic analysis placed the convict in constant communication with the deceased and in the same geographical vicinity shortly before his disappearance," the statement explained.

In its judgment delivered on July 16, 2026, the High Court ruled that the circumstantial evidence, supported by forensic DNA analysis, conclusively linked the convict to the unlawful killing despite the fact that the victim's body had never been recovered.

The court subsequently convicted Lekepei of manslaughter under the Penal Code and imposed a 10-year custodial sentence.

"The court accordingly convicted him of manslaughter under Sections 202 and 205 of the Penal Code, sentencing him to ten years in prison," the statement concluded.

This comes weeks after a former Administration Police (AP) officer was sentenced to 40 years in prison after being found guilty of murdering his colleague in Maralal, Samburu County.  

In a statement on Thursday, July 16, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) said Patrick Marwa was convicted over the fatal shooting of fellow officer Dancun Cheruiyot in an incident that occurred in 2019. 

According to the ODPP, the High Court in Nanyuki ruled that the prosecution had proved the murder charge beyond reasonable doubt before handing down the custodial sentence.

"In a matter prosecuted by Prosecution Counsels Esther Kimani, Jackson Motende and Maina Kimaru, the High Court in Nanyuki found Marwa guilty of the offence of murder contrary to Section 203 as read together with Section 204 of the Penal Code and sentenced him to serve 40 years' imprisonment," the statement read.

The court heard that on May 4, 2019, at about 5.30 p.m., Marwa, who was attached to Administration Police Line Two in Maralal, reported to the armoury where he was issued with a G3 rifle and twenty rounds of ammunition before leaving for night duty. 

While waiting at the main gate for transport alongside Cheruiyot, who was in charge of discipline at the camp, the deceased instructed Marwa to surrender his firearm after informing him that he would not proceed to his assigned duty station at the China construction site.

The ODPP said evidence presented during the trial showed that the directive led to an argument between the two officers. 

During the confrontation, Marwa cocked his rifle and shot Cheruiyot ten times, killing him on the spot.

According to the ODPP, police officers who responded to the scene recovered ten spent 7.62 mm calibre cartridges and the G3 rifle that had been issued to the accused. 

Cheruiyot's body was taken to the Samburu County Referral Hospital mortuary, where a post-mortem examination confirmed that he had sustained ten gunshot wounds.

"In reaching its determination, the court found that the prosecution had proved the charge of murder beyond reasonable doubt," the statement further read.