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Fredrick Leliman: How ex-cop planned and executed heinous murder of Kimani, Mwenda and Muiruri

This after Kimani's client, Mwenda - a boda boda rider- accused the senior cop of shooting him in the arm for no reason at a traffic stop in 2015.

Mwenda had filed a complaint with IPOA accusing Leliman of shooting him after arresting him over an allegation that he was gambling.

After the shooting, Leliman took Mwendwa to the hospital and subsequently pressed charges in a bid to silence him. He accused Mwenda of being in possession of 14 stones of bhang, resisting arrest and gambling. The trumped-up charges, however, flopped.

As IPOA launched an investigation into Mwenda's claims, the officer arrested the boda boda rider a second time on December 13, 2015, claiming that he had committed a traffic offence.

Fearing for his life, Mwedwa, sought help from the International Justice Mission (IJM) which came on board and tasked lawyer Kimani with the case.

Plot

Leliman's first attempt to silence Mwenda was to plant an informer by registering two Airtel SIM Cards using a lost identification card to communicate with Peter Ngugi, a vendor turned informer, to monitor the boda boda rider.

During the first hearing of the case at Mavoko magistrate's court on February 16, 2016, Leliman and Ngugi communicated 15 times as the case proceeded.

After the hearing, officers who claimed to be from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) accosted Mwenda and his co-accused. Mwenda's then- lawyer, however, intervened and insisted to know why DCI officers were interrogating his client.

As this was happening, the star witness at the hearing, Leliman, who was now seated in a car, a grey Toyota NZE, acknowledged the harassment as the DCI officers interrogated Mwenda.

Upon being pressed, one of the officers, only identified as Muthee, confiscated their identification cards and informed the lawyer that they were being interrogated over an alleged robbery committed in Meru.

He said that he would photocopy the documents and send their particulars to Meru. Muthee reportedly then stepped out and returned 45 minutes later; apologized and released Mwenda and the co-accused.

After foiling the attempted kidnapping, the lawyer in a move that now puts IPOA, the Inspector-General of police and the judiciary on spot, wrote a letter seeking to have Mwenda to be protected by the state.

He also launched a complaint against Leliman.

The body of Josphat Mwendwa is being loaded into a police car after being found in Oldonyo Sabuk. [Willis Awandu, Standard]

As the passenger was picking up the socket whose note had Kimani's wife's number, the lawyer told the passenger, "pigieni huyu simu akuje saa hii, tuko hatarini" (call this person, urge her to come now as we are in danger).

This troubled Leliman. The two left the bar and were joined by a Mr Kamenju. Kamenju remains a mystery and is still at large.

At the station, Leliman picked the keys from the day's sentry, opened the cells and ordered the three into the boot of a Nissan Wingroad.

He handcuffed them from behind and then drove to an open field along Mombasa Road, opposite Mastermind Tobacco Limited.

Murder

Mwenda was strangled to death using a rope and a polythene bag. His body was stashed in a sack and thrown into Leliman's car boot. Muiruri was strangled using a second polythene and his body was also stashed in a sack and thrown into Kamenju's car.

Kimani was the last to be killed. He was strangled using a rope and a polythene bag, and also stashed in Leliman's car.

The two cars then proceeded to Ol Donyo Sabuk River in Machakos County where they dumped the bodies. They then drove back to the bar where they ate and drank before dispersing.

Call data, eight cigarette butts, energy drink bottles at the murder scene and Ngugi's confession, however, gave them away after the murders came to light. A test conducted on the cigarette butts matched Ngugi's DNA.

While being detained, Leliman is said to have attempted to bribe Ngugi with Sh15,000 to omit his name but this too failed to work.

During the trial, the state called 46 witnesses and produced 117 exhibits. Leliman had 34 witnesses.