Three former police officers and a civilian are due to be sentenced by a Kenyan court for the 2016 murder of prominent human rights attorney Willie Kimani.
Last year, a jury found the four defendants—Fredrick Leliman, Stephen Cheburet, Sylvia Wanjiku, and Peter Ngugi—guilty of killing Mr. Kimani, his client Josephat Mwendwa, and taxi driver Joseph Muiruri.
The wife of the late lawyer and his family have already arrived at the packed courthouse in the capital, Nairobi.
Mr. Kimani’s and the other two victims’ remains were discovered after being dumped in a river at the outskirts of Nairobi, the country’s capital.
The attorney was representing Mr. Mwendwa, a motorbike taxi driver who had claimed that Mr. Leliman, one of the three officers found guilty, had shot him without cause during a traffic stop in 2015.
On June 23, 2016, Mr. Kimani, Mr. Mwendwa, and Mr. Muiruri were last seen in a police station.
Two weeks later, their dismembered bodies were discovered in a river 100km (62 miles) from the city.
The sentencing comes at a time when Kenya’s police service is under yet more scrutiny over extrajudicial killings and abductions.
Several special groups accused of killing and abducting civilians have already been disbanded by President William Ruto.
Author-Roberta Appiah
