Death row man free after 10 years

A man who could not hide his joy Monday when he was declared free told the three-judge bench: “May God bless you for doing justice to me.”

The Court of Appeal quashed the death sentence handed down to the former househelp on mistaken identity a decade ago then wished him a “Merry Christmas”.

Mr Peter Gatiku Kariuki, 52, a husband to two wives and a father to six, told the Nation upon his release: “At last I will enjoy Christmas with my family from which I have been separated for over a decade.”

He said he was not bitter since justice “has come knocking my Kamiti Maximum Prison cells”.

Kariuki was freed by Mr Justice John Mwera, Mr Justice G. B. M. Kariuki and Lady Justice Agnes Murgor who said: “The complainant did not see the faces of those who robbed him and pointed at the appellant irregularly.”

They also said the complainant, Mr Mathew Kipkemboi Bungei, a telecom exchange employee, did not give any description of the suspect he claimed was Mr Kariuki.

They said it was unsafe to rely on his (Mr Bungei’s) evidence as the possibility of era was alive, adding that they had warned surbordinate courts against relying on the evidence of a single witness.

EVALUATE EVIDENCE

“It is pertinent that the trial court (Kibera) did not properly evaluate the evidence, and as a result, did not appreciate the danger of basing the conviction of the evidence of a single identifying witness,” they ruled.

The court sitting in Nairobi said Mr Kariuki was arrested by police on July 29, 2003 from a butchery at Ongata Rongai upon being pointed out by Mr Bungei, and charged with violent robbery. He was sentenced by Kibera magistrate on January 30, 2004.

His lawyer John Swaka, Mr Kariuki appealed twice. In the first, Justice Jackton Ojwang’ — now judge of Supreme Court — and Justice George Dulu upheld the conviction and sentence.

Yesterday, the judges said the appellant was not properly identified since Mr Bungei did not see those who attacked him on the night of July 2, 2003 at Ongata Rongai.

Mr Bungei, the judges noted, did not know the number of people who attacked him since “he gave conflicting numbers of three and five”.

He said he was attacked at a dark alley at 9pm by a group of five who stabbed and hit him on his head until he became unconcious. He was treated at Kenyatta National Hospital.

The judges noted: “We observe that Mr Bungei did not allude to the condition of the lighting, whether natural or artificial.”