A police officer, Jackson Kipkoech Konga, who was found guilty of killing his supervisor, Sergeant Christopher Kimeli, in Nakuru in 2023, has been sentenced to a 30-year jail term.
The High Court in Nakuru found Konga guilty of murdering Kimeli on August 8, 2023, at the K9 Unit Dog Section in Nakuru County.
According to the prosecution, Konga had been assigned an AK-47 rifle, serial number BK 5804, with 30 rounds of ammunition the previous evening, August 7, and deployed for night sentry duty at Gate B alongside his colleague, Samson Kigo.
At around 4 a.m. the following morning, other officers arrived at the station with two suspects. During routine inspection, Sergeant Kimeli ordered that the suspects be taken to the reporting office.
A witness testified that a heated confrontation followed between Konga and Kimeli, after the latter allegedly berated him for failing to escort the suspects, calling him a “fool.”
Konga reportedly complained that Kimeli had insulted him and even threatened to “finish” him.
“Konga cocked his gun and went outside while Kimeli, after booking the suspects, followed him. Suddenly, we heard gunshots. Konga said he had finished him and surrendered his gun, asking to be arrested,” the witness said.
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Francis Karori, a ballistic expert, testified that the spent cartridge and the 29 remaining rounds of ammunition were from the AK-47 assigned to Konga, based on unique firing pin markings.
Dr. Titus Ngulungu, the pathologist who conducted the postmortem, said the bullet exited from the back, leaving a 40mm wound on the upper chest.
He confirmed that the cause of death was a single close-range gunshot wound that damaged the lungs, heart, and spinal cord.
In his defence, Konga claimed that Sergeant Kimeli had questioned why the suspects had not been taken to Nakuru Central Police Station.
“He called me stupid and claimed I didn’t know my work. I didn’t react, he taunted and insulted me in the presence of other officers, grabbing my firearm,” he added.
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Konga said a struggle ensued, during which the gun’s nozzle pointed at Kimeli’s chest, and the trigger went off.
He claimed Kimeli had followed him for about 50 meters before the shooting and insisted he had no intention to kill.
However, Justice Julius Nangea ruled that although Konga could have been angered by the insults, this did not amount to grave or sudden provocation sufficient to downgrade the offence from murder.
“The accused must have known that shooting someone in the chest would likely cause death. This act was driven by malice aforethought,” the judge said.
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