Ex-police officer jailed for 45 years for murdering bar owner in Turkana

A former police officer has been sentenced to 45 years in prison for the murder of a female bar owner in Kakong, Turkana County, where he previously served.

The Turkana High Court found Wilfred Kibichy Too guilty of the murder of Susan Nasiru Emure after the prosecution presented seven witnesses during the trial.

In delivering the judgment, Justice Nyambati Nyakundi said  Kibichy could be sentenced to death were it not for the fact that the sentence is not carried out in the country.

“Were it that in Kenya the death sentence was carried out, I would have sentenced him to death,” the judge stated.

Led by Turkana County, Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Edward Kakoi, and the prosecution revealed that in January 2021, at the Kakong area, Kainuk Division within Turkana South Sub-County, the accused, Kibichy, who at the time was a police officer attached to Kakong Police Post, murdered Susan.

The evidence by Kakoi and his team adduced in court indicated that the accused went to a local bar where he consumed alcohol and refused to foot the bill.

A physical altercation ensued between him and Susan, who was the owner of the bar, and it was during the altercation that he was accused of striking the deceased on the head and sustaining a bleeding injury.

Following the incident, Kibichy proceeded to his house, retrieved his service firearm, returned to the premises, and discharged several rounds at the woman, fatally wounding her on the spot.

The sentencing comes even as cases of officers shooting members of the public and their colleagues have been on the rise, especially after intoxication with alcoholic drinks.