By Wanja Waweru
Rebecca Wanja, the late Josephat Mwenda’s widow, passed out in front of the Milimani Law Courts immediately after the four Willie Kimani killings defendants were sentenced in 2016.
Mr. Mwenda was assassinated on June 23, 2016, together with lawyer Mr. Kimani and taxi driver Joseph Muiruri.
Mrs. Mwenda, who was wearing a purple pair of eyeglasses and an Ankara print dress, appeared to be overcome with emotion after Justice Jesie Lessit Leliman condemned the defendants.
“My name is Rebecca Wanja Mwenda I was the wife to the late Josephat Mwendwa,” she said before collapsing.
Justice Lessit stated in her decision that the evidence presented during the trial had demonstrated that the killings were premeditated and that the victims had been cruelly tortured before being slain.
She executed former police officer Fredrick Ole Leliman for his role in the murders. Leliman was the brains behind the “sophisticated murder,” according to Justice Lessit.
She continued by saying that the murder was particularly heinous due to its careful preparation and execution.
Police officers Sylvia Wanjiku and Stephen Cheburet received sentences of 30 and 24 years in prison, respectively, while police informant Peter Ngugi received a 20-year sentence.
