Four Sentenced to Death in Robbery Case Linked to Former MP George Muchai’s Murder

A Nairobi court on Thursday sentenced four individuals to death for their role in a violent robbery case connected to the 2015 killing of former Kabete MP George Muchai.

Two others were handed ten-year prison terms. Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina delivered the sentences after convicting six individuals on multiple charges, including robbery with violence and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

Those sentenced to death are Erick Munyera, Raphael Kimani, Mustafa Kimani, and Stephen Asitiva, while Jane Wanjiru and Margaret Njeri received ten-year terms.
During sentencing, Magistrate Onyina noted that the accused had pleaded for leniency and were treated as first-time offenders.

However, he said the seriousness of the offences could not be ignored. The court reviewed submissions from the defence and the Director of Public Prosecutions, pre-sentencing reports, mitigation pleas, and the time the convicts had already spent in custody.

“The court is unable to interfere with the position on the death sentence as provided by law,” Onyina ruled, emphasising that the crimes involved abduction and the use of firearms previously stolen from a police officer.

Sentences for additional counts were suspended, as the death penalty on the primary charge made other penalties legally redundant. For Wanjiru and Njeri, the ten-year sentences will run from the date of their initial remand.

The court also ordered that all firearms and ammunition seized as evidence be forfeited to the State, with enforcement pending the conclusion of an ongoing High Court murder trial involving four of the accused.

The convictions relate to robberies committed on 6 and 7 February 2015, during which victims lost property valued at around Sh1.1 million, including vehicles, mobile phones, laptops, cash, and a gas cylinder. The prosecution presented 36 witnesses to establish the defendants’ involvement.

The case is linked to the murder of George Muchai, who was killed alongside his two police bodyguards, Constables Samuel Kimathi and Samuel Lekakeny, and driver Stephen Ituu Wambugu, during an attack along Kenyatta Avenue.

The four men sentenced to death are also facing a High Court murder trial related to the killing, where Justice Kanyi Kimondo has confirmed that the prosecution established a prima facie case. All six convicts have been informed of their right to appeal within 14 days of the ruling.