Policeman free in Kisumu poll killings

The High Court on Monday set free a policeman accused of cold blooded shootings in Kisumu during post election chaos.

The judge, Justice Fred Ochieng' said despite all other evidence pointing to former police constable Edward Kirui having committed the crime, he was not linked to the weapon used to kill the two demonstrators.

It emerged that the weapon that ballistics tests showed to have fired the killer bullets was different the firearm that records show was issued to Mr Kirui on the fateful day.

While releasing Kirui, Justice Ochieng' wondered why, who and when the gun, used by the former officer, was changed.

This was despite the fact that all the evidence pointed against Mr Kirui, said the judge.

Justice Ochieng' said Kirui was positively identified by two witnesses and was skilfully captured in a video tape, while shooting at two demonstrators at Kisumu’s Kondele market on January 16, 2008.

Mr Kirui, formerly attached to Kondele Police Station, had been accused of killing George William Onyango and Ishmael Chacha as they demonstrated over the outcome of the last General Election.

Irreconcilable

The former police officer, was lawyer was retired judge Johnson Mitey, maintained that he was issued with a rifle with serial number 23008378 but the killer bullet was fired from a rifle with serial number 3008378.

In the judgment, Justice Ochieng said that he agonised over the different numbers but ruled out chances that it was a writing error. “Did they replace the gun with another one? If there was a change of guns, who did it, when and for what reasons?” he said.
The judge said that faced with the irreconcilable facts, he had no option but to free the accused person. “I give him the benefit of doubt because it is possible that the fatal bullet was not fired by the accused,” he said.

From the evidence, the two victims died as a result of massive bleeding. The court further heard that the two were shot from behind and that they were unharmed. The judge said the act was callous and such an officer should not be in the disciplined force.
“The police officer’s life was not in danger and as if that was no enough, the officer kicked the dying demonstrators,” said the Judge
Witnesses

While identifying the bullet that was retrieved from Mr Onyango’s body, Dr Margaret Oduor, a pathologist with Nyanza Provincial General Hospital said that both Mr Onyango and Mr Chacha were shot from behind, but in the latter’s case, the bullet made an exit from the chest.

A total of 22 witnesses testified in the case with police officers and ballistic experts topping the list of witnesses called by the prosecution to support its case. Among them was a UK journalist who captured the shooting in a video. A ballistics expert said that the bullet retrieved from the body of Mr Onyango matched the gun he was given to carry out tests.

Mr Johnstone Mwongela told the court that the unique marking in the bullet retrieved from the body showed that it was fired from rifle serial number 3008378.

The expert explained that each rifle had rifling markings’ after firing. He likened the rifling markings to fingerprints, saying that every rifle had its unique characteristics.

Mr Mwongela further told the court that three rifles, two of them Chinese-made and similar to AK-47 rifles and a G-3 gun, were submitted to him from Kondele police station for tests.

The expert examined all of them and found out that they were all in good working condition. He also test-fired each of the guns to get the markings and formed the opinion that the bullet retrieved from Mr Onyango’s body was fired from a Chinese-made rifle serial number 3008378.

But 27-year-old Kirui maintained that he was issued with a different gun adding that he was framed. Among the people he blamed was Mr David Wafula, the first prosecution witness.

The court noted that the Wafula knew Mr Kirui well and Mr Chacha, one of the victims was a friend. Justice Ochieng further said Mr Wafula asked Kirui, as he prostrated on the ground- why he was killing them.

Mr Kirui’s boss at Kondele, also identified him on the tape saying he had a unique walking style. The judge dismissed defence advanced by Mr Kirui that he was not subjected to an identification parade saying there was no need of one because the suspect was well known.

“After careful consideration, I find that the prosecution has failed to prove that the fatal bullet was fired from the gun issued to the accused person,” said the judge.

After his release, Mr Kirui’s parents who included his father Joshua Lang’at wept in joy. The family has been travelling from Kabianga in Kericho, during every hearing.