Editor's Review

"The court finds the first accused guilty of the offence and sentences him 90 years in Prison, " the judge said.


A Kitale Court has sentenced a 24-year-old man to 90 years imprisonment for violently robbing, raping and killing his ex-employer.

The man Chris Wanjala was found guilty of the gruesome murder of  Lilian Bourcart, 74.

Bourcart was a Swedish Missionary who managed a children's home and conducted charity work in Milimani Estate, Kitale.

The Prosecution team led by Joyce Mumu (SPPC) proved the case against the convict before Chief Magistrate Julius Ng'arng'ar.

The prosecution said that the duo deserved the maximum sentence since it is a capital offence, so as to act as deterrence and a lesson to others.

Ng'arng'ar said the sentence is meant to be deterrent, retributive and rehabilitative, taking into account the brutality used to commit the offence.

"The court finds the first accused guilty of the offence and sentences him 90 years in Prison, " he said.

Ng'arng'ar said that the evidence presented to the court provided that the two had taken part in the killing of the missionary.

When the incident happened, two workers Philomena Chepkorir and Rashid Wanjala said they reported to work at 8 am only to find the main gate and doors open and discovered the body on the floor in the storeroom.

According to Chepkorir, the house was ransacked and some Sh300,000 meant for rent was missing.

Bourcart lived on the property for 12 years.

The sentencing of Wanjala's co-accused, Dominic Nyongesa, was deferred pending his age assessment.