BY IPOA NEWS TEAM

The High Court in Garissa yesterday sentenced police Corporal Edward Wanyonyi Makokha to twenty years (20) in jail for attempted murder, following an investigation by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority.

He was found guilty contrary to Section 220 (b) of the Penal Code which makes it an offence for any person who attempts to cause death of another human being.

IPOA took up the investigations after a Form-Four student at Benane Secondary School in Garissa was shot and wounded outside a food kiosk in Benane township.

The police Corporal who was attached to Benane Kenya Police Patrol Base was implicated in the shooting which occurred on September 25, 2014.

IPOA conducted an independent investigation which included recording statements from 12 witness, among them police officers, and further collected and analysed forensic evidence.

At the conclusion of the investigation, IPOA recommended to the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions that an attempted murder charge be preferred against the officer, a request that was upheld and the officer arraigned on October 29, 2015.

The Court in Garissa delivered the judgement on March 4, 2020 after finding the culprit in violation of Section 220 of the Penal Code.

It states: “Any person who (a) attempts unlawfully to cause the death of another; or (b) with intent unlawfully to cause the death of another does any act, or omits to do any act which it is his duty to do, such act or omission being of such a nature as to be likely to endanger human life, is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for life.”

IPOA Chairperson Anne Makori said: “The Authority endevours to conduct independent and impartial investigations, in the interest of the members of the public who we serve. I assure the public that no matter how long it takes, the few errant police officers will be made to account for their actions in accordance with the laws of the land.”