- She will have to analyse a total of 117 exhibits and evidence given by 46 prosecution witnesses and 34 defence witnesses.
- The state has put up a spirited fight in a bid to persuade the court to convict the five accused in the brutal murder of the trio.
Image: ENOS TECHE
High Court judge Jessie Lesiit Thursday will consider the much awaited verdict in the Willie Kimani murder trial, bringing to a close the high profile case which began in late 2016.
Justice Lessit said she will give a judgment within the next 60 days, saying this is the longest case she has ever handled.
She further said she has written more than 6,000 pages and it is the biggest file in her career.
Both prosecution and defence teams made their final submissions Thursday, with each side urging the judge to rule in their favour.
Justice Lessit will have to analyse 117 exhibits and evidence given by 46 prosecution witnesses and 34 defence witnesses.
Crucial exhibits tabled before the judge by the prosecution include phone data records, mobile phone companies cell sites analysis and DNA samples.
Other pieces of evidence critical in the trial include a confession statement given by the fifth accused, and evidence generated from CCTV cameras from the high tech Communication Command Centre(C3) and the motor vehicle recognition technology.
However, even as the judge retires to write the judgment, her jurisdiction to conclude the case was questioned by Peter Ngugi.
The police informer told court last month that he was used by the officers charged with the brutal murder of Willie, Josephat Mwenda and Joseph Muiruri on June 23, 2016.
Through his lawyer Kelvin Michuki, Ngugi asked the judge to declare the just concluded trial a mistrial, arguing that her jurisdiction to hear the case ended the moment she was promoted to the Court of Appeal.
“The proceedings before you are annulity—including the ruling you issued placing all the accused persons—APs Fredrick Leliman, Stephen Cheburet, Silvia Wanjiku and Leonard Mwangi—on their defence," Michuki said.
In his response to the issue of jurisdiction, state counsel Nicholas Mutuku said it is not a new occurrence for a Court of Appeal judge to conclude their matters at the High Court even after being promoted.
He gave many examples of other judges who handled matters after being promoted. A case in point being Justice Roselyn Nambuye who was allowed to conclude 25 matters she had after her promotion.
Mutuku also put up a spirited fight in a bid to persuade the court to convict the five.
The state officer told court that they have proved beyond all reasonable doubt that all the five accused planned the brutal killing of the victims.
On their part, the defence also pleaded with the court to disregard all the evidence produced by the prosecution, saying they only relied on assumptions.
Lawyer Cliff Ombeta for the Leliman and Cheburet told court that the matter has not been proved beyond all reasonable doubt as had been said by the state.
(edited by Amol Awuor)