Four found guilty of killing Marsabit chief

The High Court in Meru has convicted four people of the murder of a chief in Marsabit County in December 2018.

Justice Thripsisa Cherere ruled that prosecutors had proved that former councillor Doyo Galgalo, Galma Guyo, Bokaya Dida and Somo Huqa murdered Dirib Kombo location chief George Darara.

The four will be sentenced next week after the court considers their mitigation and probation reports.

The administrator was pelted with stones, beaten with crude weapons, stabbed with swords and then doused with petrol and set on fire.

Dr Mark Imbusi, who conducted the post-mortem exam on the body, told the court that the chief died of excessive bleeding, burns and head injuries.

He said the body had suffered about 60 per cent burns. The back of the head was also fractured.

The medic also noted that the chief’s face had multiple deep cuts and fractures while the nose was disfigured.

33 pictures

Police Constable Abdullahi Jillo, a crime-scene investigator, tabled 33 pictures that illustrated the depth of the cruelty meted out on the administrator.

“The attack on the chief was violent and cruel. He was not only stoned and stabbed but his body was set on fire and this leaves no doubt in the mind of the court that the accused persons’ sole intention was to kill the chief,” the judge said.

The chief had attended the burial of two police reservists who had been killed a day earlier in clan-instigated clashes when he met his death in Gar-qarsa, Marsabit Central.

Justice Cherere ruled that several protected witnesses, who testified behind closed doors, gave details of the role each of the accused played in the December 16, 2018 murder.

A witness narrated how he heard Galgalo and four elders say that the slain chief was an enemy of their community during the burial of the reservist.

While mourners waited for the reservist’s body, the chief arrived on his motorcycle but was prevented from entering the compound by Ms Dida and other women.

Commotion

In the commotion, young men started pelting the chief with stones before Huqa drew a sword and stabbed the administrator in the head.

Galgalo allegedly demanded that the chief be killed and his body set on fire. Guyo, Huqa and others rushed to the administrator’s motorcycle and siphoned petrol. The witness told the court that Huqa doused the chief with the petrol and set him ablaze.

Joseph Nyakwara, the deputy county commissioner of the area at the time, told the court that the chief had previously complained that his life was in danger.

Justice Cherere noted that the witnesses who identified the four had told the court that they had known the convicts for a long time and referred to them by their names.

She dismissed their alibis that they were not at the scene, saying the prosecution’s “well corroborated” evidence outweighed their claims.

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