MP’s relatives furious after killer police officer gets 10 years for manslaughter

• Judge says shootings were a crime of passion committed in self-defence

The judge said Moeche was justified in thinking that Mr Too wanted to kill him and shot the MP after he reportedly accused him of spreading lies about Ms Chepkwony, saying: “Huyu ndiyo yule mjinga amekuharibia jina?” (Is this the fool who has tarnished your reputation?)

There was no evidence that Moeche armed himself to kill or cause grievous harm to Mr Too and Ms Chepkwony.

Too much force

The judge, however, said Moeche used too much force as he could have shot to disarm, not kill them.

The court had been told that Moeche, a former police motorcycle rider, was on duty and had trailed the two before he shot them. After the incident, he sped off and handed himself over to police at Turbo, about 10km from Eldoret Town.

“Since it was the accused who followed the two and neither of them fired a single shot, he should have shot them in the arms or legs to disarm them and not thehead, chest or abdomen,” the judge said.

Mr Justice Maraga said Moeche shot the two dead because he and Ms Chepkwony were lovers and they were in proc-ess of solemnising the union.

The two had met at Kenya Police training college in Kiganjo in 2000 and fallen in love. They agreed to marry but after graduating from the college, they did not meet again until 2006 when they were posted to the same station. By then, both were married.

The court heard that after Ms Chepkwony’s husband died in 2007, the two revived their affair and in August the same year, agreed to marry.

Moeche took Ms Chepkwony to his home in Nyamira, Kisii, where he told his parents of his intention to marry a second wife. His father gave his blessings.

Armed himself

Turning to the guns at the scene of the shooting, the judge said there was no evidence that the MP had a gun of his own and that the rifle he armed himself with when he heard Ms Chepkwony screaming at Moeche was hers.

And although the rifle was recovered at the scene, police hid it after realising they had made a mistake in issuing her with two firearms.

“Otherwise, why would the police want to tamper with the entry in the Firearms Register relating to the date when the G3 rifle was returned?” asked the judge.

“Faced with two armed people, I find that the accused was justified in thinking that he was in imminent danger and was provoked to shoot in self-defence,” Mr Justice Maraga concluded.