No reprieve for the Mpoes as all suspects acquitted

After four years of waiting for justice in the murder case of Maasai land rights activist Moses ole Mpoe and his friend, the Mpoes went home a dejected lot when all the seven suspects were acquitted by the High Court in Nakuru last Monday.

But members of former powerful Cabinet minister Mbiyu Koinange’s family embraced the judgement delivered by Lady Justice Hellen Omondi since one of his widows, Mrs Eddah Wanjiru Mbiyu, and stepson David Njuno Koinange, were among the seven people acquitted.

The others acquitted are Mr Musana ole Mbukoi, Mr Nicholas Kipsigei Ng’etich, Mr Johnstone Kipkurui Sigei, Mr Steve Kiamba Mwanzia and Mr John Kiragu Macharia.

The seven are, however, facing an attempted murder charge at the Nakuru Law Courts in the matter of Joseph Mpoe, who survived the attack.

The attempted murder charge was placed aside pending hearing and conclusion of the murder case.

A third member of the Koinange family, Mr David Waiganjo, was adversely mentioned by the defence as having masterminded Mpoe’s murder.

POWERFUL PEOPLE INVOLVED
Five of the suspects were arrested soon after Mr Mpoe and his friend, Parsaaiya ole Kitu were shot dead on the evening of December 3, 2010 at Soilo Junction along the Nakuru-Eldoret highway as they were driving into Nakuru town.

Their car was sprayed with bullets by a lone gun-man riding on a motorbike.

Lady Justice Omondi, in acquitting the seven accused, wondered why the prosecution failed to follow up and get the mobile phone numbers used to threaten Mpoe and hinted that there were probably powerful people in government involved in the murder as alluded to by the defence.

“I concur with defence lawyer Paul Muite in saying that nothing could have been more fundamental to the proof of guilt than the evidence from Safaricom as to who the owner of the lines the threats were made was,” she said, adding that the police could have sought court orders compelling the mobile company to produce the said numbers.

Mrs Mbiyu was arrested as she was shopping in Nairobi while Mr Macharia was the last to be enjoined in the case after police claimed that he was seen together with the other suspects on the day Mr Mpoe was murdered.

SURVIVED SEVEN BULLETS

However, hearing did not commence until October 15, 2012.

During the hearing, 17 prosecution witnesses were called among them Mr Waiganjo, who told the court that his step-mother and brother did not want Mpoe in the management of the 4,926 acre farm in Mau Narok.

Mr Mpoe’s brother, Joseph, who was travelling in the same car with his brother when they were attacked, told the court that he saw Mr Ng’etich shooting at them. He survived seven shots.

It was during the defence hearing that names of powerful people in the government and politicians among them Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Kimemia, Head of Directorate of Criminal Investigations Ndegwa Muhoro and Kiambu Governor William Kabogo were mentioned.

Senior police officers such as former Officer Commanding Nakuru Police Division, Mr Johnstone Ipara and his Criminal Investigations Department counterpart Abdi Salat were also mentioned as having played a role in covering up for the real culprits in the murder.

FEARED FOR HIS LIFE

Mrs Mbiyu told the court that Mr Mpoe told her that he feared for his life and that he was being followed by about 15 government vehicles with individuals who had been sent by Mr Kimemia and Mr Kabogo.

“Mr Kabogo wanted to buy the controversial Muthera farm and sell it to the government through Mr Kimemia for the resettlement of IDP,” she said.

“I believe that Mpoe was murdered by powerful people because of Muthera and Rose farms, those powerful people tried everything and even approached beneficiaries of the estate to sack Mpoe,” she added.

She said the same was demonstrated by the sale of neighbouring Rose Farm, which sparked protests from the Maasai community.

She said that Mpoe kept on saying that the same people who had bought Rose farm also wanted Muthera farm, hence the threats and trailing by government vehicles.

Mr Muhoro was named by Mr Mpoe’s son, Raphael Mpapai, as having met Mr Waiganjo and assured him that the matter will be concluded in favour of the Mpoe family.

State counsel Andrew Omtelema rejected the claims that the senior government officials were involved in the murder, saying that they were strangers in the case who did not have a chance of defending themselves. He said there was no proof to show that they were involved.

NOT BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT
Justice Omondi said the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and acquitted the seven.

The judge found that the prosecution failed to seal many loopholes, adding that suspicion, however strong, could not be used as a basis of concluding guilt on the accused persons.

The judge found that three of the accused persons, Johnstone Kipkurui Sigei, Steve Kiamba Mwanzia and John Kiragu Macharia were not mentioned by any of the prosecution witnesses or in any way linked with the murders of Mpoe and his friend.

She observed that the others were charged with murder because there was intolerance between them and Mpoe and they were seen together in Njoro and Nakuru on the day the Maasai land rights activist and his friend were killed.