On August 3, 2009 Nasoro Badi and Charles Onyango of Shonda Village, Mombasa county joined their fellow villagers in making funeral arrangements for a departed villager.
When it got to about 10pm, the duo left the venue together. Strolling along the path home, Badi excused himself and stepped into a nearby bush to attend to a call of nature.
Onyango walked a few steps ahead while waiting for his friend and it was then he met up with Jeremiah Nyaga, Edward Mutua and Mwaniki Nyaga. The trio asked him if he had seen any police officers in the area and he said no as he walked past them.
Without any provocation, the men hit Onyango at the back of his head and he fell down with a thud. Badi heard the commotion and rushed towards his friend.
One of the attackers asked him if he knew Onyango but seeing they were armed, he retreated and ran back to the function they’d just left.
Badi would later testify that the three attackers were familiar to him because they lived in the same estate.
He asked the other mourners to come help his friend who was being attacked by thieves and when they got to the scene of crime the attackers were long gone. Onyango however, lay unconscious and was bleeding profusely.
A few minutes later and he gained consciousness and said the thieves took his phone, shoes, ID card and Sh650.
The mourners took Onyango to Inuka Police Station where he filed a report and then to Coast General Hospital where he was treated for his injuries.
A few months later and the three, Jeremiah, Edward and Mwaniki, were arrested. They were arraigned at the high court in Mombasa facing robbery with violence charges, which they denied.
The trial ran its course and on May 11, 2010 the trio was convicted of the offence and sentenced to death.
They immediately moved to the Court of Appeal saying they were denied right to legal representation and their rights to a fair trial was compromised.
Their appeal was quashed in April 22, 2016 after justices Milton Makhandia, William Ouko and Kathurima M’inoti upheld the lower court’s ruling.
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