Mtwapa ex-police officer sentenced to death 16 years after killing 3

On the night of March 16, 2003, Police Constable Harrison Kipng’etich Langat loaded his G3 rifle and went to the report office at Mtwapa police post, now a police station, opened fire and killed three people.

Those killed in the bizarre incident were civilians Doreen Wawira and Alice Katonye and Police Constable Jacob Nderi.

Sixteen years later, it remains a mystery what led Mr Langat to kill the three, who had gone to the police post to file reports.

However, those close to the officer say he was frustrated by a deal gone sour.

The person he had targeted escaped death by a whisker.

DRINKING SPREE

Mr Langat went on a drinking spree on the day that he killed the three people after working the whole of the previous night.

He started at Burn Off bar then went to Palm Bar, both located in Mtwapa township, drinking the whole day with colleagues including Mr Nderi.

When evening approached, his colleagues returned to the patrol base leaving him behind. He returned to the base at about 7pm.

Mr Nderi went to the report officer three hours later for his night assignment.

Minutes later, an armed Mr Langat followed, finding about five civilians reporting various crimes.

GONE BERSERK

After a short while, a seemingly drunk Mr Langat went berserk, shooting Mr Nderi and the five civilians.

Mr David Kyalo, Mr Jonathan Kigame and Mr Anwar Nassir survived the shooting and were treated at Coast General Hospital but the other two people died.

Those who witnessed the incident said after the shooting , Mr Lang’at ran to his house where he was disarmed and put under arrest.

Police found eight spent cartridges at the scene, which they took for ballistic analysis alongside 12 bullets.

Mr Langat was later arrested and charged with three counts of murder. He was also fired.

LONG TRIAL

The trial took long, with the murder charges first being reduced to manslaughter and later restored to murder.

Mr Langat was tried with manslaughter at the magistrate's magistrate court but the trial was terminated midway due to enhancement of the charge.

At some point, a warrant for his arrest was issued for failure to appear in court.

When he was finally arrested six years ago, Mr Langat was locked up until the case was determined on November 12.

He denied the charges before Mombasa High Court Judge Dorah Chepkwony.

SENTENCING

The case was finally concluded on Tuesday and the suspect handed the death sentence after being found guilty.

Justice Chepkwony said in her ruling that evidence placed Mr Langat at the scene of the killing of the three people.

“All evidence, when taken as a whole, points to the guilt of the accused. It leaves the court with no doubt that indeed he was at the crime scene and that he was the one who committed the heinous act,” she said.

The judge further noted that the suspect did not give any statement or evidence to buttress his denial of the offence as well as controvert witness accounts.

The court also found no proof to support the suspect's claim that he returned the rifle at the time the shooting occurred.

“The evidence available suggests that the accused mercilessly opened fire and shot the three people who later succumbed to their wounds. The court therefore finds that the suspect is guilty of the offence of murder and convicts him accordingly."

DEFENCE DISMISSED

The judge dismissed Mr Langat’s defence that he was drunk when the incident occurred, noting that his careless actions led to the loss of three lives.

Mr Langat had said he could not remember what happened on that day.

“I was drunk on that day. When I got out of the patrol base, I heard people shouting that I should be stopped and locked up in cell,” he said.

While asking the court for mercy, he said he was drunk when he returned to the patrol base but explained that he could remember using his gun to kill anybody.

The judge noted, however, that the three people died in the hands of a police officer who was to protect them.

DPP'S PLEA

Ms Chepkwony said no special circumstances forced Mr Langat to use his weapon as the people at the base were not armed and had not committed any crimes.

“The bottom line is that the accused has not explained why he murdered the three people. It is not in dispute that three people lost their lives. I find myself with no choice but to impose the death sentence against the accused,” she said.

The harsh sentence was imposed after Director of Public Prosecution Noordin Haji, through State counsel Erick Masila, asked the court to hand it to act as a deterrent against rampant shootings and killings by police officers.

The prosecutor also asked the court to take into consideration the fact that three families lost their breadwinners in the hands of an officer tasked with their protection.

“The accused person was a police officer and he used his weapon, which was meant to guard innocent people, to mercilessly shoot and kill those he was supposed to protect without any valid reason," he said.

"The court ought to take judicial notice of what is happening in the country, where police use their guns to end the lives of innocent Kenyans."