Former AP Officer Jailed 40 Years for Killing Colleague in Samburu
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The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has secured a 40-year prison sentence against former Administration Police officer Patrick Marwa after he was convicted of murdering his colleague, Dancun Cheruiyot, in Maralal town, Samburu County.
The sentence was handed down by the High Court in Nanyuki after the prosecution successfully proved the charge of murder beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case was prosecuted by Prosecution Counsel Esther Kimani, Jackson Motende and Maina Kimaru, who presented evidence linking Marwa to the fatal shooting.
Marwa was found guilty of the offence of murder contrary to Section 203 as read together with Section 204 of the Penal Code.
The court subsequently sentenced him to serve 40 years in prison for the killing that occurred on May 4, 2019.
Fatal Confrontation at Police Camp
Court proceedings established that on the day of the incident, at about 5.30 p.m., Marwa, who was attached to Administration Police Line Two in Maralal, reported to the armoury where he was issued with a G3 rifle, serial number J54854, together with twenty rounds of ammunition before proceeding for his scheduled night duty.
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According to evidence presented before the court, Marwa and the deceased, Dancun Cheruiyot, were waiting at the main gate for transport to their duty station when Cheruiyot, who was in charge of discipline at the camp, instructed Marwa to surrender his firearm after informing him that he would not proceed on duty at the China construction site.
“The prosecution proved that an argument ensued between the two officers following the directive. In the course of the confrontation, Marwa cocked his rifle and shot Cheruiyot ten times, killing him instantly,” the prosecution said in a statement.
Evidence Presented Before Court
The court heard that after the shooting, Marwa handed over the firearm to a fellow officer, who later returned it to the armoury.
He was subsequently arrested and escorted to Maralal Police Station, where the incident was formally reported.
Investigating officers who visited the crime scene recovered ten spent cartridges of 7.62 mm calibre ammunition alongside the G3 rifle that had earlier been issued to the accused before he went on duty.
The body of Cheruiyot was moved to the Samburu County Referral Hospital mortuary, where a post-mortem examination confirmed that he had sustained ten gunshot wounds, findings that corroborated witness accounts and forensic evidence presented during the trial.
Court Finds Malice Aforethought
In delivering the judgment, Justice A.K. Ndungu found that the prosecution had established every element of the offence of murder beyond reasonable doubt.
“The evidence adduced, including witness testimonies, the scene visit and the post-mortem report, established that the accused acted with malice aforethought in unlawfully causing the death of the deceased,” Justice Ndungu observed in the ruling.
The court held that the prosecution’s evidence consistently demonstrated that the shooting followed a disagreement over a disciplinary directive and that the accused intentionally used his service weapon against his colleague.
Consequently, the judge convicted Patrick Marwa of murder and sentenced him to forty years’ imprisonment.
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Milimani Law Courts
PHOTO/Citizen
