The Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction and seven-year prison sentence handed to two police officers found guilty of manslaughter in the fatal 2018 shooting of 26-year-old Janet Wangui Waiyaki at Nairobi’s City Park.
The officers, William Kipkorir Chirchir and Godfrey Kipngetich Kirui, were convicted in 2021 for their role in the incident and had appealed both the conviction and the sentence, arguing that they acted within their legal mandate during an anti-terror patrol operation.
However, in a ruling delivered by Justices Patrick Kiage, Jamila Mohammed, and Weldon Korir, the appellate court dismissed the appeal, finding the use of force by the officers unlawful and excessive.
“We are satisfied that the appellants were properly convicted and sentenced,” the bench ruled, maintaining that although the officers did not act with malice aforethought, their actions constituted criminal culpability.
The tragic events unfolded on the morning of May 20, 2018, during the holy month of Ramadan. Chirchir and Kirui were part of a five-member police team deployed to patrol City Park, Nairobi, as part of heightened anti-terror security operations.
According to court records, the officers were alerted by city askari Eustace Mureithi about a suspicious, tinted Toyota Fielder parked near the grave of former Vice President Joseph Murumbi.
After 10 to 15 minutes of observing the vehicle, receiving no response to knocks on the windows, and calling for a tow truck, the vehicle suddenly accelerated.
Witnesses, including commanding officer Corporal Bramwel Adala and constables Christine Manga and Kenneth Kipngeno Kirui, testified that the car nearly hit Adala before speeding off. The officers shouted for it to stop — then opened fire.
The vehicle veered off the road and landed in a ditch. Inside were Janet Wangui Waiyaki and her nephew, Bernard Gathuma Chege.
Waiyaki was fatally wounded; Chege sustained gunshot injuries.
In his testimony, Chege said he had picked up his aunt the night before and they had spent the evening chewing miraa and driving before deciding to rest at City Park.
He told the court he was jolted awake by loud knocks and, frightened by the sight of armed men outside the vehicle, sped off — unaware they were police.
“I heard gunshots and felt pain in my ribs. I stopped the vehicle and screamed for help,” he testified.
Chege was rushed to Avenue Hospital, while Wangui was pronounced dead at the scene. A postmortem revealed she had died from multiple gunshot wounds caused by high-velocity firearms. Forensic evidence showed bullets entered through the back door and rear windscreen.
Justice Served
The case sparked widespread public outcry in 2018 over police use of excessive force, particularly involving unarmed civilians.
The High Court’s conviction of the officers in 2021 marked a rare instance of accountability for deadly police actions — a verdict now affirmed by the Court of Appeal.
With this ruling, Chirchir and Kirui will continue serving their seven-year sentences.
