Six people found guilty of the murder of former Juja MP George Thuo, who was poisoned at a club in Thika, Kiambu County, in 2013 will now spend 15 years in prison.
This is after Justice Roselyne Korir imposed a 15-year jail term sentence on the six including Thika-based Porkies club owner Paul Wainaina Boiyo alias Sheki, the late MP’s aide Christopher Lumbasio Andika alias Lumba, two DJs – Andrew Karanja Wainaina and Samuel Kuria Ngugi alias Visi.
Others are waitress Esther Ndinda Mulinge, who served the MP with the drink laced with a poison identified as cyanothrine at Porkies Club, and patron Ruth Watahi Irungu alias Atlanta.
While imposing the sentence, the Judge noted that the six who faced a serious offence did not express any remorse for their actions but maintained their innocence.
Korir noted that she had considered various factors before handing down her sentence including the victim impact statement, their mitigation, and a pre-sentencing report that outlined positive attributes regarding the convicts, with a recommendation that they be given a three-year sentence.
The Judge pointed out that she found credibility in the desire of both Paul Wainaina and Christopher Lumbazio who were close friends of the MP to reconcile with Thuo’s family.
“This court has taken into consideration that the first and second accused persons were friends of the deceased to that end this court finds credibility in the desire to reconcile with the deceased family. Reconciliation is more critical where both the offenders and the victims are family, relatives, friends, and neighbors. In my view reconciliation speaks to the humanity of the offender to the victims while the penal sanctions speak to society’s condemnation of the offender on the offence,” the judge noted
In her decision, the judge also found that the pre-sentencing report showed that the six persons had positive attributes having been vocal and faithful members of their respective communities with no likelihood of committing any other offence.
“These are positive attributes that contributes to the reduction of the severity of sentencing. Clearly, the accused do not deserve the maximum sentence provided for under section 204 of the penal code,” Justice Korir stated.
The court while sentencing them further factored in the period in which they spent in pre-trial custody and the two months post-conviction custody.
“The accused persons spent approximately one year in custody before they were either granted bond terms or met the bond conditions. They have also spent two months in custody since their conviction. This trial as the record shows has taken a duly long time owing to a combination of factors. Although the accused were out on bond the trial hang over their heads and must have caused them alot of anxiety for 11 years now,” Koriri said.
She said the sentences imposed would run from April 19 this year when she convicted them.
In April, Korir found the six guilty and convicted them for the offence of murder that took place at Porkies Club on November 17,2013.
The judge said that the circumstantial evidence presented by the prosecution linked all the six convicts to Thuo’s poisoning.
” Each of the convicts played a role in serving the beer -laced poison that eroded his(Thuo’s) stomach walls and intestines, Justice Korir ruled.
Korir agreed with doctors’ reports, who found that Thuo’s cause of death was haemorrhagic gastroenteritis due to poisoning.
The judge said the poison, a Cyhalothrine pesticide could lead to death in five to ten minutes once ingested into the body, as the court was informed by an expert.
The poison was traced in his liver, kidneys, and the shirt he was wearing on the material day.
“I find the forensic evidence clearly shows Thuo consumed a poison-laced drink at Porkies Club,” said the judge.
She said Thuo, a former Chief Parliamentary Whip was pronounced dead on arrival at Thika Nursing home after collapsing at the club after
Korir stated that the evidence adduce in court showed that Thuo had complained to Boiyo and Andika that he was feeling hot and sweating after taking some Tusker Light.
He was taken to an office where he removed his vest and then returned to the club, the judge noted.
Before joining Boiyo and Andika. Thuo had called them before leaving his home and told them he was going to the club to watch Formula One.
“Boiyo and Lumbasio knew that Thuo was going to the club. They had received a phone call from him. They had sufficient notice for any plan, good or bad,” Justice Korir ruled.
Witness says Thuo’s drink was not tested
She said Andrew Karanja Wainaina and Samuel Kuria Ngugi, who were his entertainment staff, chose to sit with him (Boiyo) at the same table and never left to ensure that nothing goes wrong.
The judge noted that Esther Ndinda Mulinge, a waiter at the club, served beer to Thuo and others seated with him while Ruth Vanessa Irungu bought a beer and personally took it to the deceased and hugged him.
The court, however, questioned her motive and wondered if the hug was a Judas embrace, referring to it as “kikulacho kinguoni mwako (what harms is within you)”.
Justice Korir asked, “Was the hug of the sixth person the Judas kiss… evidence showed that she was a regular customer and she would be given the change even without buying a drink for the MP”.
