September verdict for Muiruri son case

 By Wahome Thuku

Who pulled the trigger of the firearm that shot and killed the son of former Assistant Minister Patrick Muiruri in January 2009?

This question and many others are what High Court Judge Mohamed Warsame will be dealing with for the next three months as he prepares his judgement in the trial of two suspects in the murder case.

The suspects, Dickson Munene and Alex Chepkonga, will spend the time in remand awaiting for the ruling. The judgement will be delivered on September 22.

The two made their final submissions and asked the court to find then not guilty of the fatal shooting of Dr James Ng’ang’a Muiruri on January 24, 2009.

But the prosecution led by Senior State Counsel Job Kaigai said they had proved in the case that the two suspects formed a joint intention to kill Ng’ang’a and were guilty of murder.

Ng’ang’a was shot dead following a bar brawl at an entertainment spot in Westlands, Nairobi. The deceased had been drinking in the company of his brother and family friend Jedidah Okudo.

A fight broke out at dawn between them and another group of revellers that included Chepkonga. They were all thrown out of the club by security guards. They then extended the scuffle to a nearby street where Ng’ang’a was shot minutes later.

Cognitive ability

The suspects have been in remand since they were charged few days after the shooting. The prosecution called 23 witnesses before closing their case early this year.

Munene, a police inspector and an engineer by profession said the prosecution had failed to prove who pulled the trigger of his firearm, killing Ng’ang’a.

His lawyer, Kioko Kilukumi maintained that Ng’ang’a was shot as he struggled with the police officer after resisting arrest. Kilukumi said his client was making a lawful arrest against Ng’ang’a for allegedly assaulting Chepkonga.

Witnesses told the court they saw Munene attempting to handcuff the deceased just before the shooting. Miss Okudo told the court that she heard Ng’ang’a ask Munene, "Who are you to arrest me?"

The defence lawyer said the only two eyewitnesses, Ng’anga’a’s brother and Okudo had spent the night taking alcohol and their judgement and cognitive ability had been fundamentally impaired.

"None of them saw the accused pull the trigger of any firearm but all they heard were gunshots," Kilukumi submitted, adding that the fact about who pulled the trigger was a matter of conjecture.