7 factors that influenced Justice Lessit's verdict in Willie Kimani murder case

Justice Jessie Lessit while terming the crime as "a most foul murder, an execution that was most heinous" slapped police officer Fredrick Ole Leliman who is believed to have been the mastermind of the crime, with a death sentence.

His former colleagues and co-accused Stephen Cheburet Morogo and Sylvia Wanjohi were sentenced to 30 and 24 years respectively while their informant Peter Ngugi got 20 years in jail.

During the ruling, Justice Lessit listed seven aggravating factors which led to the court decision as follows:

1. The murder was intended to interfere with the cause for justice.

2. The offence was committed by a group.

3. The deceased were kept inside the boot of a car and taken out one at a time to be murdered. The judge said the murder was executed close-by so that "the victims could hear the thumping and blows being inflicted and the screams and shouts of their colleagues as he was killed." The fact that each knew they would be the next to face the same fate, justice Lessit noted it must have caused them extreme fear, stress and psychological torture as they awaited their turn.

4. Crude weapons were used to butter the victims and create excruciating pain.

5. The deceased were put in gunny and plastic bags and dumped into Athi River with the intention to conceal the murder and make the recovery of their bodies difficult

6. The murder involved flagrant and excessive use of violence on the deceased and caused damage to the persons.

7. The first accused widely and clearly had a grudge against the deceased Mwenda. The judge recalled how he captured and killed Kimani and Muiruri not caring about their lives and the fact that they had not done anything to him to deserve what he did to them