On October 29, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) announced that Justice Kanyi Kimondo had sentenced Duncan Livingstone Kimathi to death for murdering Sarah Akello Aruwa. The case dates back to June 30 and July 1, 2012, when Akello, a final-year International Relations student at USIU-Africa, was abducted in Kiamako, Githunguri, Kiambu County.
According to the ODPP, prosecutors presented evidence from 17 witnesses, outlining the abduction, ransom demands made to Akello's family, and her subsequent killing. The court heard that Kimathi and his accomplices lured Akello into a trap, abducted her, and demanded Ksh100,000 from her family in exchange for her release.
On the day of her disappearance, Akello had told a friend she planned to meet a man she had previously encountered at the university library. Investigators found that Akello's notebook contained details of someone she planned to meet, identified as Daniel Muriithi, whose telephone contact she had recorded. However, the court established that Kimathi did not know Muriithi, concluding that the identity had been used as part of a plan to lure Akello.
The abductors contacted Akello's family and demanded Ksh100,000 for her release. Her mother, Hellen Atieno Aruwa, testified that a man called her from her daughter's phone and demanded the ransom. She negotiated the amount down to Ksh70,000 and then reported the matter to Kasarani Police Station.
Investigators recovered Akello's bra, panties, and a blood-stained top from a house in Savannah where Kimathi's girlfriend, Wairimu, lived. A postmortem examination found a laceration at the back of Akello's head and bruises on her neck. Her tongue protruded from her mouth, and the examiner attributed her death to neck compression caused by manual strangulation.
In his judgment, Justice Kimondo found that Kimathi had acted with malice aforethought, noting that Akello had been deliberately lured into a trap for abduction and ransom before being murdered. A second accused person faced trial but later absconded after the court released her on bail, and the court directed the proceedings to continue in her absence.
The sentencing brings closure to a decade-old case that has seen numerous investigations and court proceedings. Kimathi was found guilty of killing Akello, and Justice Kimondo concluded that the circumstances of the abduction and killing showed malice aforethought.
Key points
- Duncan Livingstone Kimathi was sentenced to death for the abduction and murder of Sarah Akello Aruwa.
- The abduction and murder took place between June 30 and July 1, 2012, in Kiambu County.
- The court heard evidence from 17 witnesses, including Akello's family members and investigators.
