Willy Kimani murder: Video to play in court

A video recording explaining how lawyer Willie Kimani, his client Josephat Mwenda and taxi driver Joseph Muiruri were executed is expected to be played in the High Court Wednesday morning.

The recording was made by Joseph Muindi, a senior officer who was tasked with capturing former police informer Peter Ngugi as he took a detective to the spots where the three were killed on the night of June 23, 2016.

CRIME SCENES

On Tuesday, Mr Ngugi, through his lawyer Kevin Michuki, raised an objection, saying the court should not allow him to incriminate himself.

Justice Jessie Lesiit adjourned the matter to this morning.

Mr Muindi told the court that he was approached by detective Clement Mwangi asking him to accompany him as the accused person took him to the crimes scenes.

Mr Muindi said he cautioned him, read the charge sheet to him and told him of his rights. He said Mr Ngugi agreed to go ahead and be recorded. They visited six crime spots, where the recording was done as Mr Ngugi explained how it happened.

The first spot they visited was the Mavoko Law Courts, where Mr Ngugi kept watch as Mr Kimani and his client Mwenda attended a hearing over an assault case that the latter had filed against Mr Fredrick Leliman, one of the accused.

They later drove a few kilometres in Athi River and were shown where Mr Muiruri was stopped as he drove towards the city centre after the hearing was concluded.

TRANSCRIPTS

Mr Muindi told Justice Lesiit that they then drove to Limuru and were shown where Mr Ngugi abandoned the taxi belonging to Mr Muiruri before they drove back to the Syokimau AP camp, where the three victims were held for several hours.

“We later drove to a bushy area in Mlolongo, where the killings took place,” he said before he produced transcripts of the video and a translation because Mr Ngugi narrated the ordeal in Kiswahili.

On Monday, the court heard that the three victims were killed in the field but at different spots and in intervals as Mr Ngugi kept watch.

The four-hour ordeal was captured in a confession made by Mr Ngugi, who had been hired by Mr Leliman to help him carry out the job.

The main target was Mr Mwenda, who had filed a complaint against the officer. He was to be captured and killed after the court hearing.

STRANGLING

According to Mr Ngugi, the killers — Mr Leliman, a man identified as Kamenju and police officer Leonard Mwangi — disagreed about the fate of the victims and argued for about three hours. According to the confession, Mr Mwangi and Mr Ngugi thought they had been exposed after booking the victims at the Syokimau AP post. They were of the view that the three should be freed, but they were overruled by Mr Leliman and Mr Kamenju as they wanted the victims eliminated.

As they argued, the victims, who had been bundled into a car boot and handcuffed, remained there all the while. After reaching a consensus to execute them, Mr Mwenda was the first to be killed. His ordeal took about an hour. The second victim, Mr Kimani, was picked up and executed in the same style — by putting a plastic bag over his face and strangling him to death.

GUNNY BAG

The taxi driver was killed almost immediately and the bodies were stashed in gunny bags and driven in the dead of night to Ol Donyo Sabuk in Machakos County, and thrown into Athi River. The spot was chosen by Mr Kamenju, “having previously worked at Ol Donyo Sabuk Police Post”. The three bodies were retrieved from the river a week later.

Earlier, a Mr Moses Kariithi told the court that he lost his identity card in January 2016 and replaced it a few weeks later. The ID, according to the police, was used to register one of the mobile phone lines used by one of the accused the day the victims were kidnapped. Mr Kariithi said he was not aware of the Airtel line although he has three other mobile phone numbers, registered in his name.

The hearing continues today.