Willie Kimani: Kenya ex-policeman sentenced to death for lawyer's murder

Photo Credit: IJM

A Kenyan court has sentenced to death a former policeman for the murder of a human rights lawyer and two others in a case which triggered national outrage by Emmanuel Igunza for BBC News.

Two other policemen and a civilian were also sentenced to between 20 and 30 years for the murder of lawyer Willie Kimani, his client and a taxi driver in June 2016.

The four were found guilty of three counts, including murder, in July 2022.

Death sentences for murder in Kenya are commuted to life in prison.

However, the 2017 Supreme Court ruling gave judges discretion to decide if a death sentence can still be imposed.

The murder of Kimani highlighted the many extrajudicial killings and disappearances that have been blamed on the Kenyan police.

In her judgement on Friday, Judge Jessie Lessit, said evidence produced during the trial had shown that the murders were premeditated and the victims brutally tortured and killed.

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