Ex-police officer sentenced to 40 years for shooting colleague 10 times

Patrick Marwa was convicted of murder after the High Court in Nanyuki found that he unlawfully shot and killed Cheruiyot on May 4, 2019, following a dispute while the two officers were preparing to report for night duty.

The court heard that at about 5:30 p.m. on the day of the incident, Marwa, who was attached to Administration Police Line Two in Maralal, had reported to the armoury where he was issued with a G3 rifle and 20 rounds of ammunition before proceeding for night duty.

Evidence showed that Marwa and Cheruiyot were waiting at the camp's main gate for transport to their duty station when Cheruiyot, who was in charge of discipline at the camp, instructed Marwa to surrender his firearm after informing him that he would not be deployed to the China construction site.

The directive sparked an argument between the two officers. During the confrontation, Marwa cocked his rifle and fired 10 shots at Cheruiyot, killing him on the spot.

"The court further heard that Marwa later handed over the firearm to a fellow officer, who returned it to the armoury, before he was arrested and escorted to Maralal Police Station, where the incident was formally reported," the ODPP added.

"Police officers who visited the scene recovered ten spent cartridges of 7.62 mm calibre ammunition and the G3 rifle that had been issued to the accused. The body of the deceased was moved to Samburu County Referral Hospital mortuary, where a post-mortem examination confirmed that he had sustained ten gunshot wounds."

In his judgment, Justice A.K. Ndungu ruled that the prosecution had proved the charge of murder beyond reasonable doubt.

The judge said the evidence presented, including witness testimonies, findings from the crime scene and the post-mortem report, established that Marwa acted with malice aforethought in causing Cheruiyot's death.

Marwa was subsequently convicted of murder and sentenced to 40 years' imprisonment.