A 26-year old man who brutally murdered a priest and buried his body in a shallow grave along Mashamba River in Makima, Embu, will serve 30 years in jail.
The Embu High Court convicted Michael Mutunga for the murder of catholic priest Father Michael Kyengo.
The accused confessed to have murdered the priest between October 8 and 9, 2019.
Until his untimely death, the 40-year old priest was based at Tatha catholic parish in Masinga, Machakos county.
Through his lawyer Kirimi Guantai, pleaded with the court to treat him with mercy and kindness since he killed the priest out of anger for allegedly sodomizing him and infecting him with HIV.
“The person you see here before you is not a coldblooded murderer but a boy who was taken advantage of and I ask the court to put into consideration the ‘why’ because it tells the whole story,” lawyer Guantai said.
In her judgment, judge Lucy Njuguna however said that there was no justification in committing the heinous crime and if the accused had been molested, he should have used the right channels to get justice.
The judge also noted that the accused committed a crime by transferring over Kshs400, 000 from the deceased’s Mpesa and bank accounts and also by taking possession of his car.
The judge further said that the family of the deceased was still bitter and in frustration since he was the only healthy member of the family and the sole breadwinner.
The accused was charged alongside Kavivya Mwangangi and Solomon Mutava. He was arrested at Kiboko Trading Center along Nairobi-Mombasa Highway while driving the deceased’s vehicle.
Assorted items belonging to the deceased were discovered in the vehicle including his driving license, duplicate insurance certificate and two mobile phones according to the prosecution.
Mutunga’s accomplices are out on Kshs300,000 bond and their case is set for mentioning on November 17 for directions with regard to hearing.
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