Two police constables who shot dead a civilian woman at City Park Nairobi in 2018 have been found guilty of manslaughter.
Justice Stella Mutuku found the two, William Kipkorir Chirchir and Godfrey Kipng’etich Kirui, guilty of manslaughter and not murder.
“The offence is not that of murder but manslaughter, malice aforethought has not been established,” the judge noted.
Justice Mutuku also found there was no shooting from inside the vehicle in which the deceased Janet Waiyaki was with her nephew, Benard Chege.
The high court ruled that the officers acted unprofessionally and recklessly and used force that was not proportional to the alleged level of threat posed by the occupants of the car.
Justice Mutuku said the deceased and her nephew did not commit any offence and didn’t pose any threat to the officers.
“They acted recklessly and shot with 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,” the Judge ruled.
In defence, the two police officers claimed they were acting on the threat of terrorism. They also told the court they were operating in an area they were not familiar with at the time they shot Ms Waiyaki,
Justice Mutuku, however, faulted the two and said; “the accused persons shot at the vehicle without establishing whether it had occupants”.
“The offence of manslaughter has been proved against the two suspects. I found the two accused persons guilty of manslaughter and not murder”, she ruled.
The judge further ordered them to submit their mitigation before sentencing on Thursday.
