Seven men have been sentenced to death by a Thika Court for murdering a man suspected of stealing a motorbike.
The seven: Samuel Kirimi, Anthony Murimi alias Waziri, Gabriel Mugo, Pius Muriuki alias Mzee, Elvis Mambo, Wycliffe Mwangi, Kennedy Gichohi and Tom Kio were accused that on May 21, 2012 at Ngera village in Gatundu South Sub County, jointly with others not before court, they brutally murdered Emmanuel Kigochi for allegedly stealing a motorbike.
The ten witnesses who were called told the court that on the fateful day at around 9am, Samuel Kirimi and his colleagues went to the house of the deceased and dragged him alleging that he had stolen a motorbike from the former.
They allegedly dragged him from his house for about 50 metres before descending on him with sharp and blunt weapons. He died on the spot.
According to the doctor who conducted the post-mortem, the results indicated that the deceased sustained serious head injuries, his left lung collapsed and also suffered fractured ribs.
In mitigation, all the accused persons pleaded for leniency citing different reasons which the court dismissed.
While giving the verdict, Chief Magistrate Stephen Mbungi said that the ten witnesses who appeared before the court and evidence deduced before it proved beyond any reasonable doubt that the seven accused persons subjected the deceased to his death.
He said that the only way he could punish the accused persons was to pass death sentence against to them.
Justice Mbungi gave them 14 days to appeal.