• Judges considered the cruel manner in which the deceased was killed - head slashed and hand chopped off - and ruled that a severe custodial sentence was necessary.
• High Court judge Martin Muya had sentenced Faraji Konde Kazungu to death after he was found guilty of killing police constable Harrison Maitha Mweni.
Image: COURTESY
A boda boda rider sentenced to death for killing Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi’s bodyguard in 2016 will now serve 40 years.
High Court judge Martin Muya had sentenced Faraji Konde Kazungu to death after he was found guilty of killing constable Harrison Maitha Mweni on October 4, 2012.
In a judgment delivered by Court of Appeal judges Daniel Musinga, Gatembu Kairu and Agnes Murgor, the bench reduced the sentence to 40 years.
The judges said beyond seeking leniency and stating that he was a family man, Kazungu did not appear to have been remorseful.
They considered the cruel manner in which the bodyguard was killed and ruled that a severe custodial sentence was necessary.
“In conclusion, therefore, the appellant’s appeal on conviction fails and is hereby dismissed. His appeal on sentence succeeds with the result that the death sentence is hereby set aside and substituted with a custodial sentence of 40 years from the date of initial sentence on March 23, 2016,” the judges ruled.
The prosecution told the court that on October 4, 2012, a youth group known as Bahari Youth Development, whose objectives included poverty eradication and education, held a rally at Mtomondoni open grounds in Mtwapa for a youth education fund.
Among the guests were Amason Kingi, who at the time was Minister for Fisheries, and retired Justice Steward Madzayo, the current senator of Kilifi county.
During the meeting, a youth leader was giving his speech at about 3pm when a stranger interrupted the meeting and grabbed the microphone before proceeding to where Kingi and Madzayo were seated on the dais.
The youth leader saw the stranger draw a panga from his clothes and heard him say, “Pwani si Kenya" and cut Senator Madzayo on the head.
Suddenly, other men, armed with pangas, emerged and he heard one of them say that they had cut the wrong person. Then Kingi took cover under the table.
His bodyguard was fatally slashed. Pandemonium ensued. Stones, chairs and tables were thrown as members of the public repulsed the attackers. In the melee, three of the attackers were killed.
Kingi said he was seated behind the high table at the dais when the youth leader was addressing the gathering. He saw a young man attempt to wrest the microphone from him.
There was a commotion. He then saw other young men approach the high table. He saw a panga being brandished. He heard shouts of “Kill them" while others shouted, “Don't kill". His bodyguard, Harrison Maitha Mweni, the deceased, pushed him behind, Governor Kingi told the court.
He said he escaped to a nearby house from where he was rescued. Later in the day, he went to see his bodyguard in hospital but found that he had succumbed to the injuries. He also visited Madzayo at Aga Khan Hospital, where he was receiving treatment.
Madzayo recalled that he was at the rally at about 3pm on October 4, 2012, seated next to Kingi, when young men interrupted the meeting and crowded the dais claiming to be members of Mombasa Republican Council opposed to holding elections.
They ordered that the meeting should stop, saying, "There will be no election in the region" and "Children will not be allowed to sit exams."
He testified that suddenly he saw the young men remove pangas from shukas. There was a stampede. Somebody pointed at him saying, “This is Kingi."
He then saw a young man holding a panga. He decided to run to save his life.
Madzayo attempted to run towards a bodyguard who had drawn his gun. He could not recall what happened thereafter as he passed out and woke up in the hospital.
He said the bodyguard's hand was chopped off and his head was slashed.
Kenga Katana, a resident of Kilifi, said he was at his neighbour’s place from where he saw each of the youths with a panga hidden in their clothes.
He said his neighbour, Ngunza Rere, who was opposed to elections in Mombasa, was saying that Kingi was telling people to vote and that he would be punished.
Upon learning that Kingi had arrived at the meeting venue, Ngunza Rere unleashed the youth to proceed to the meeting venue.
According to Katana, Kazungu, who was well known to him, was among the youth he saw taking an oath and being equipped with pangas. He followed them for about 200 metres as they went to the venue of the meeting and then decided to warn people not to attend the meeting and to report the matter to the police.
Katana testified that at the police station he wanted to report in secrecy but the officers at the reception could not hear of it. He decided to get the number of the OCS who was away in Nairobi who then referred him to the deputy OCS, inspector Christine Ramadhan, to whom he gave the information and returned to his place of work.
In his defence, Kazungu stated that he hailed from Kaloleni and operated a boda boda business; that he was arrested on October 6, 2013. He did not know the deceased, he said.
Edited by Henry Makori