A father’s anguish over court decision to set son’s killer free

Former Gatundu MP North Patrick Muiruri. [File, Standard]

A father’s fury may know no bounds when the courts cuts loose the neck of his son’s murderer from the gallows.  

For former Gatundu MP North Patrick Muiruri, the nightmare has began all over again, but he is not about to forgive and embrace the man who shot his son dead.

“I have talked to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and he has told me to write to him so that he can appeal. I cannot let this man be released after what he did to my son. I am prepared to fight all the way,” the former MP told Sunday Standard.

Muiruri is bitter that Dickson Munene, who had initially been found guilty of murdering his son James Ng’ang’a in 2011 is set to walk to freedom after his death sentence was commuted to life sentence and recently reduced to 20 years.

Sentence reduction

“I intend to appeal against the reduction of his sentence. This should not be happening. When somebody is convicted of murder and is sentenced to die, he should not be released,” Muiruri said.

Muiruri said he had tried to convince the court that his family was still suffering from the killing.

“I was shocked to learn that the court had disregarded our pain and taken into consideration the convict’s persuasive mitigation of how he was the sole bread winner for his family. He told the court he was a changed man who had not only furthered his education but also become a good prisoner who was now a role model,” the MP said.

On September 25, Justice Kimaru set aside the life imprisonment, substituting it with a 20-year-jail term which is supposed to take effect from October 12, 2011. Muiruri further argues that the law ought to be changed such that once a court finds an accused person guilty of murder and orders that he suffer death as prescribed by law, the President should not commute the same to life sentence.

“For so long, murderers have escaped the gallows because the current and past presidents have not been giving their consent for the convicts to be hanged. The last criminals to be hanged were the coup plotters of 1982, “he said.

According to the former MP, capital offences are on the rise because murderers and armed robbers were not paying for their sins thanks to lenient laws that make it possible for suspects to get bail. “Capital offences should not be granted bail. Human life should count for something. We cannot have a situation where a criminal is afforded more rights than the victim,” he said.  

But even as the former MP was venting his frustrations about recent happenings in the Judiciary, the Supreme Court directed the Attorney General’s office to file a situation report of all the 4,800 death row convicts supposed to be re-sentenced in 30 days.

Last Tuesday, the Supreme Court gave the directions during the mention of an application of re-sentencing filed by Francis Kariuko Muruatetu and Wilson Mwangi Thiribu.

Capital offence

The two had in 2017 won a landmark case when the Supreme Court found that the mandatory death sentence handed to all capital offence convicts was unconstitutional.

In their judgement, the Supreme Court judges had directed that Muruatetu and Thiribu be taken back to the High Court for re-sentencing on priority basis and that all the other capital cases be re-looked into. The decision has since seen more than 1,000 convicts resentenced, among them Dickson Munene, and a number set free.

Muruatetu and Thiribu’s case could not be re-looked as their file was said to have gone missing at the High Court.

But as the duo waits for their day in court, 11 minors who have collectively been in prison for a total of 104 years have been granted freedom by the constitutional court.

The convicts, most of who are now adults, include Peter Gathagwa Migwi who had been found guilty of violently robbing and killing a cleric, Geoffrey Mburu Mbugua, in 2001. 

The loot

In the course of the robbery, a gang of robbers had waylaid Mbugua in Githurai where they carjacked and killed him. The cleric’s body was still in the vehicle when the robbers were confronted by police. Migwi, who at the time was 17, was caught inside the deceased car and still had the loot.

Other death minors who walked to freedom were Justin Muna Karanja, Martin Kimani Ndung’u, Boniface Mwaura Njoroge, Ali Hassan Wako and Kelvin MUnyua Ndung’u.

Others are Simon Gikundo, Kevin Keagan Dwero, Daniel Omusula and  John Murio Njeri. The convicts were set free by Judge John Mativo after they successfully contested the constitutionality of their being held indefinitely at the President’s pleasure.     

The court declared: “The common grievance cited was that all were convicted and sentenced to serve under the presidential pleasure. All the petitioners were below 18, hence the sentence to serve under presidential pleasure”. 

Mativo observed that the convicts had suffered as their petitions had been pending for several years because their files were never taken to court.

Consequently, the court reduced the sentences of 10 of the convicts to the period served and ordered that they be set free.