NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 20- The High Court has placed four police officers and a civilian on their defence for the murder of International Justice Mission lawyer Willie Kimani, client Josephat Mwendwa and driver Joseph Muiruri.
The killings happened on June 23, 2016.
Lady Justice Jessie Lessit in her ruling said she was convinced by the prosecution that the five have a case to answer in the murder of the three.
The police officers are Fredrick Leliman, Stephen Cheburet, Sylvia Wanjiku and, Leonard Mwangi, while the civilian is identified as Peter Ngugi who was the police informer.
“After considering the evidence, I have come to a conclusion that the prosecution has established a prima facie case against all of the accused,” she ruled.
The prosecution told the court that the five abducted Willie, Josephat, and Joseph on June 23, 2016, after the trio left Mavoko Law Courts where they had attended a case hearing involving one of the accused.
After a week-long tedious search, their bodies were discovered in Ol Donyo Sabuk River in Machakos County.
The trial began in 2016 and the Prosecution closed its case last week after calling 46 witnesses.
Among those who were called to give evidence include Police officers, Willie’s former colleagues, witnesses who discovered bodies floating at the river, a boda-boda rider who the prosecution said was the last person Lawyer Kimani talked to and who picked distress the lawyer allegedly wrote on a tissue paper.
The prosecution also adduced a confession statement given by Ngugi, allegedly detailing how a scheme to kill the three was hatched and executed.
The prosecution, in its bid to prove its case against the accused also used technology including cell-site analysis to map geographic area, DNA sampling, and phone call data.
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