Former Swiss Port Manager Murders KDF Officer
In a recent development, Richard Mwangi Mugo, a 58-year-old former senior operations manager at Swiss Port Kenya Limited, a Dutch cargo company based at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder of Kenya Defence Forces officer John Machimbo Litala. The sentencing took place on Friday at the Milimani High Court, where Judge Daniel Ogembo delivered the verdict.
The incident occurred four years ago on December 3, 2018, on the Eastern Bypass in Njiru. Mugo was convicted of brutally killing the 55-year-old KDF officer, who was posted to the Department of Defence. The judge emphasized that Mugo’s claim of being robbed of his mobile phone on the night of the murder was unsubstantiated, as he failed to report the theft to the police or confirm his alibi.
The court heard that before the murder, Mugo, a father of three, transferred Sh10,700 from the victim’s mobile phone to his own. The money was then further transferred to another number belonging to Dennis Karima Gachoka. Signals from the victim’s phone and Mugo’s placed them together at the crime scene, leading the judge to dismiss any possibility of coincidence.
Justice Ogembo stated that the assailants inflicted severe violence on Machimbo, attempting to force him to reveal his M-Pesa pin for the money transfer. The victim’s personal belongings, including his army uniform, job card, pay slip, identity card, and credit cards, were found next to his body.
During the trial, Mugo denied involvement in the murder, but the judge, based on call records obtained from the mobile phone company, concluded that Mugo was at the scene of the crime at the time of the murder. The investigating officer, Benjamin Mumo, discovered the money transfer occurred precisely at 5:09 am, coinciding with the time of Machimbo’s death.
Machimbo’s widow, Alice Chiteyi Luyeku, and their two sons, Jeremiah Bagi and Abraham Lincoln, testified in court, recounting the last moments they spent with the victim. Machimbo had received a call instructing him to report to the Department of Defence immediately, ultimately leading to his tragic demise.
In delivering the sentence, Justice Ogembo rejected Mugo’s plea for a non-custodial sentence, emphasizing that he had “brutally ended the life of an innocent person.” Mugo has been given 14 days to appeal the verdict. The case highlights the severity of the crime and serves as a reminder of the consequences for those found guilty of such heinous acts.
