By Betty Luke
A convict in the gruesome murder of Isiolo-based rights activist Elizabeth Ekaru has been sentenced to 30 years imprisonment.
The convict, Patrick Naweet was in August this year found culpable over the January 3, 2022 incident that was occasioned by a then existing land dispute.
While delivering the judgment, Meru High Court Judge Edward Muriithi said Naweet will serve 27 years jail term as he had been in custody in the last three years after plea-taking on January 17, 2022.
The convict who, at the time worked as a security guard at a hotel in Isiolo town, is said to have lured the deceased to the disputed piece of land shortly after attending a burial ceremony within Kambi Garba in Isiolo.
The court in August this year found Mr Naweet guilty after nearly three years court battle that saw the prosecution side line 11 witnesses including the deceased family members, administrators, experts and investigators.
An autopsy presented to the court revealed that the deceased died due to excessive loss of blood following deep cuts on different parts of the body including the thighs, forearm, palm and the back, that damaged her major blood vessels.
The suspect had pleaded not guilty to the offence and insisted that the deceased confronted him after she realized he had informed the area chief of her alleged encroachment into his piece of land.
However, a DNA profile generated from a dress that the deceased was wearing at the time of the attack matched the one in the suspect’s shoe and on a killer weapon recovered from him, placing him at the center of the murder.
The court found that the multiple injuries inflicted on the deceased was an indication that she was defenseless at that time.
“The multiple penetrating wounds shows a ferocious attack calculated to disable or maim his victim so completely that the stab wounds injuries are aimed at the back of the chest and her thighs,” noted Justice Muriithi.
Rights Activist Anab Kassim hailed the court’s decision, terming it an indication that the Judiciary was committed to ensuring justice to victims of violence against women.
“Although 30 years is not what one would have expected considering the nature of the offence and the suffering it has caused the deceased family, the sentence somehow consoles the family members who I believe are convinced that justice can be served,” she said shortly after the sentencing.
