Police officer jailed 15 years for killing his wife

The convict, Maxwell Maina Muigai, who was attached to Eldoret Railways police station, was handed the sentence after the state counsel proved he murdered his slain wife, Mercy Chebet, while under the influence of alcohol.

While delivering his verdict, the Presiding Judge Reuben Nyakundi observed that the accused shot his wife with an AK-47 rifle without any provocation from the deceased on the fateful day.

The Judge further stated that although the accused had entered into a plea bargain with the family of the victim, he could not hand him a non-custodial sentence due to the weight of the case he was facing and also the circumstances under which the deceased lost her life.

Muigai committed the said criminal offence on the afternoon of November 28, 2023, in his house, which is located within the Railways police line in Uasin Gishu County.

Muigai is said to have shot his estranged wife twice in the chest with the firearms that he had been issued. Chebet succumbed to the injuries while being rushed to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret City.

After allegedly committing the heinous act, Muigai returned to his workstation and continued his duties as if nothing had happened.

The Judge’s verdict followed testimonies from four key witnesses, including a senior cleric with the African Inland Church from Elgeyo Marakwet County.

Pastor Rebecca Kipchumba narrated how she watched helplessly as the police officer shot and killed his wife after accusing her of refusing to open the door to their one-bedroom house at the Railway police line.

She recalled that the police officer was drunk on the fateful day when the deceased refused to open the door despite several knocks using his rifle.

The cleric, who was staying in the house next to the couple, narrated that after the fatal shooting incident, the accused told her not to bother to call for help to rush his wife to the hospital since she was already dead.