A priest
and four others have been sentenced to death after they were found guilty of
killing a catholic bishop in Isiolo.
Father
Guyo Waqo, Mohamed Molu, Aden Ibrahim, Mahati Halake and Roba Bariche were
sentenced to death after court found them guilty of murder.
Justice
Fred Ochieng however stayed the sentencing until the four appeal within 14
days.
They were
charged in 2005 with the murder of the Bishop of the Isiolo Catholic Diocese
Luigi Locati, who was gunned down on July 14, 2005.
One of
the six people charged with the murder was acquitted on Tuesday.
In
acquitting Wario, Justice Ochieng said it was important to know whether he was
aware of the plan by Father Guyo to execute the bishop when he hired out a gun
to him.
But he
said he did not know that the gun was going to be used for execution.
Wario
said he was told that the gun was going to be used for hunting Ostriches.
The judge
said it was clear that Wario was not at the scene of crime when the attack took
place, but he did not deny supplying the gun.
He said
Wario was tricked into hiring out the gun.
Justice
Ochieng found the role played by Guyo was to plan, finance and recruit people
to kill Locati.
Guyo
facilitated the acquisition of the guns, transported the killers and kept them
in his house until the day of the attack.
Ochieng
said there was sufficient evidence that Molu attended one of the planning
meetings and attacked the bishop with a rungu.
The judge
found that Aden bought a G3 rifle, which he was found with at the scene of
crime.
“You
accosted the bishop together with others and fired from the rifle at the scene
of crime during the attack. Mahati Halake also took part in planning and
acquisition of firearm and you received money from Father Guyo. On the night of
the attack, you were armed with a pistol. You also accosted the watchman
guarding the bishop’s house,” Ochieng said.
The judge
found that Roba was directly involved in murder as he was the link between Guyo
and the others in planning and executing the death.
He said
Roba, who acquired a carbine rifle, was present at the night of the attack.
Ochieng
said the four accosted and threatened the bishop’s watchman and fired at him.
He said
it does not matter that on the day Locati was killed, Guyo did not personally
shoot at him.
Ochieng
said it was enough that he acted in concert to kill the bishop because they
were aiding and abetting the offence.
“You are
as guilty as the person who inflicted the injuries,” he told Guyo.
The judge
said if the killers’ intention was to rob Locati, they should have waited for
him to enter the house, but the fact that they ambushed him while armed shows
they wanted to only cause him grievous harm, which they succeeded in.
During
the trial, investigating officer Mohammed Amin said he established that there
was bad blood between Father Guyo and Locati because the bishop had given
instructions that Guyo desist from soliciting donor funds.
This
apparently did not go down well with Guyo.
Evidence
on record stated that guns were bought at Sh3,000 and concealed in a sack of
charcoal.
They were
ferried in a mission vehicle.
Amin said
the killers used gloves to conceal their fingerprints to avoid leaving and
traces.
“But when
Roba was arrested, he had hidden scars on his hands and chest. He told the
officer he sustained the injuries when he was jumping over the barbed wired
fence at the scene of crime,” he said.
Source: the-star
