High Court judge Stella Mutuku on Thursday, May 27, 2021, sentenced two police officers to 7 years in prison.
The two, William Chirchir and Godfrey Kirui, were found guilty for manslaughter in the murder of businesswoman Janet Waiyaki at City Park, Nairobi.
On May 11, Justice Mutuku ruled that the two officers shot at the businesswoman who was with her nephew, with the intent to kill them.
"They acted recklessly and shot at the aim of killing. There was no shooting from inside the vehicle. By using the firearms to stop the car, they used force and acted contrary to the law," Mutuku ruled.
File image of police constables William Chirchir and Godfrey Kirui in court. |Photo| Courtesy|
On May 13, the two constables while appearing in court, pleaded that they be awarded a no-custodial sentence, admitting that they would have acted in a different manner during the day of the killing.
"I am a father to two children aged seven and one-year-old and an elderly mother who also depends on me," constable Chirchir told the court.
Kirui also pleaded that he had two children who he is taking care of along with two of his siblings.
However, the prosecution countered the pleas, arguing that Waiyaki was murdered at age 41, leaving behind two children.
“The children will live the rest of their lives without the care of a mother. The young one has been waiting for the mother to come back,” the prosecution argued.
Waiyaki was with her nephew Bernard Chege in a car at City Park when the officers shot at them.
The businesswoman died on the spot while Chege made it out with bullet wounds. The officers had used AK47 riffles.
