• According to justice Lessit,no malice was found in the cause of death since Kanari acted in self-defence after a quarrel with the deceased over a woman.
A former police officer has been found guilty of manslaughter after killing a credit officer in an alleged love triangle.
Leonard Kanari, who appeared before Justice Jessie Lesiit, was accused of killing Christopher Muganda in Garden Estate in 2016.
“The accused used intense force when he shot Muganda dead. He was unarmed and that is against the law,” the judge ruled.
No malice was found in the cause of death since Kanari acted in self-defence after a quarrel with Muganda over a woman.
Lesiit said there were no other people at the scene and that Eda Wanjiku Kamau, the girlfriend only heard Muganda screaming after being shot.
“The cause of death was bleeding from a gunshot wound in the abdomen,” Lesiit said.
The judge said she has considered the fact that the evidence which indicted that Kanari’s gun was used to shoot Muganda was never challenged.
Kanari had been charged with killing Muganda on the night of May 26 and 27, 2016 at Icon Flat, Garden estate, Kasarani.
He had been charged with manslaughter before a Makadara court and pleaded not guilty. He was later charged with murder.
Muganda and Kanari were Mwakamba's friends. She testified that she could hear a lot of commotion and after a while the accused was nowhere to be found.
The judge ruled that it was a crime of passion because Kanari was found in Muganda's house. Kanari was confronted by Muganda.
Lesiit reduced the murder charge to manslaughter. Kanari asked for a non-custodial sentence, claiming he was injured during the confrontation with Muganda.
He told the court that he has continued to undergo treatment. Muganda said only one bullet killed Kanari. The prosecution urged the judge to hold that the Nakuru businessman was behind Kanari's death of deceased.
Kamau testified that she knew Muganda, a former boyfriend of seven years and the father of her child. She said he was helping her in business.
“On that day, I met Kanari at a restaurant in Thika Road Mall. We had a meeting from 7pm to around 12:45am. Later, I agreed to an offer to drop me at my apartment at Icon place in Garden estate,” Kamau said.
She said Kanari offered to carry her luggage upstairs to her house on the third floor. He remained outside the house for about 10 minutes as they had a chat and, thereafter, got into the house.
At around 1:15am, she escorted Kanari to the door. It was then that Muganda appeared.
“At that point, Muganda and the Kanari got into a scuffle on the corridor,” Kamau said.
She testified that there was a commotion and she run back into the house. She got scared when she met the Kanari. Kamau said she opened the door then heard Muganda shouting.
“I saw a blood stain on the left side of Muganda's stomach,” she said.
Kanari will be sentenced on September 17.