This archive report was first published on 5 December 2019.
On December 5, 2019, Embu High Court judge Florence Muchemi delivered a long-awaited verdict in a case that had been pending for 10 years.
Constable Peter Karanja, a 46-year-old Administration Police officer, was found guilty of murdering 10 people in Siakago town, Embu County on November 6, 2010.
The victims included Frida Ng'endo, Kenwin Muthoni, Agostino Kinyua, Antony Mwaniki, George Nganga, Fredrick Okwako, Wilfred Gitonga, Domisiano Muchira, Racheal Muthoni, and Ephantus Munyi.
According to the court, Karanja had gone on a shooting spree at different bars in Siakago, killing anyone he came across, after he had excused himself from night duty at the District Commissioner's residence to search for his estranged girlfriend.
The court was told that Karanja had walked for about a kilometer to the shopping center, where he attacked several bars, before engaging in a shooting spree and running out of bullets.
He was subsequently arrested and charged with murder, and on December 5, 2019, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for each murder count, although the jail terms will run concurrently.
