A Nyeri court has found three men guilty of killing a woman who testified against them in a court case in September 2010.
Appearing before Justice Ngaah Jairus at the Nyeri High Court on Tuesday, Daniel Karonji, Daniel Wachira and David Gituku were found guilty of killing Lucy Wangui at her house in Gatuiga Village, Nyeri county.
The court heard that the trio acted in revenge after the woman testified against them in a robbery with violence case that saw them convicted and sentenced to death in 2003.
However, they later filed a successful appeal and were acquitted on August 5, 2010.
Upon their release, they went ahead to attack the woman on September 3, 2010, the court further heard.
The court was told that the deceased succumbed to the burn and cut injuries inflicted four days later.
They were identified by an employee of the deceased.
David Mwangi, the employee, narrated how they had just separated after having supper with the deceased that night before he was alerted by screams.
He said that he rushed to her rescue, only to find her on fire but identified the three using his torch.
In his ruling, the judge sided with the prosecution, adding that the background of the trio and the testimony was proof that they must have been involved in the murder.
"In the ultimate, I find the accused guilty of the offence of murder as defined under section 203 of the Penal Code and convict them accordingly,” he was quoted by the Standard.
But in their defence, the first and third accused persons claimed that they were in their homes at the time of the incident.
The second one also pleaded innocent, claiming that he only learnt of his charges upon presentation in court.