A murder case in Timbaroa, Republic v. Peter Kepkemboi, also remains pending. 163Kepkemboi is accused of being part of a group that shot Kamau Kimani Thiongo, a Kikuyu,in the head with an arrow. The prosecution finished its case in October 2011 and wasawaiting a ruling, due November 25, on whether the defense has a case to answer. Theprosecutor spoke highly of the police investigations into this case, including their role inseeking an order to exhume the body, which had been buried without a post-mortem. 164In Molo, there is a pending inquest into the killing of Nahashon Mburu, who was killed withan axe on January 9, 2008, an incident that triggered a series of further killings in Molo.Four eyewitnesses have testified in court that the man wielding the axe was ThomasBelsoi. 165 Belsoi has not, however, been formally charged with the crime, and hearings areongoing. 166Another murder case included in the Department of Public Prosecutions list is Republic v.James Omondi Odera and Three Others, regarding the killing of newly elected ODMMember of Parliament Melitus Mugabe Were, shot in Nairobi on January 29, 2008. Werewas the first leading politician to die amid the post-election violence, and ODMimmediately called the killing a political assassination. 167 However, a prosecutor involvedwith the case said there was no evidence that the killing was related to the elections, andHuman Rights Watch consultation of the court file suggested the killing was related to anattempted robbery or a deal gone wrong. 168163 Human Rights Watch interview with a police official, Rift Valley, April 28, 2011.164 Human Rights Watch interview with a prosecutor, Nakuru, October 24, 2011.165 Belsoi is included in a list of suspected perpetrators prepared by the quasi-governmental Kenya National Commission onHuman Rights (KNCHR). According to the list, annexed to KNCHR’s 2008 report on post-election violence, Belsoi “hostedraiders [at Sirikwa Farm] and provided support to them. He provided storage for guns and other logistics including binocularsthat led to the killings of 20 Kikuyu young men.” KNCHR, “On the Brink of a Precipice: A Human Rights Account of Kenya’sPost-2007 Election Violence,” August 15, 2008, p. 211.166 Molo Magistrate’s Court, Inq. 4/08. Case file consulted by Human Rights Watch, October 19, 2011.167“Annan leads Kenya crisis talks,” BBC News, January 29, 2008,http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7214558.stm (accessed September 12, 2011).168 Human Rights Watch telephone interview with a representative of the State Law Office, November 24, 2011; Republic v.James Omondi Odera & 3 others, Nairobi High Court, HCCR 57/08. Court file consulted by Human Rights Watch, November 23,2011. Five suspects were charged with murder in March 2008, although the charges against one suspect were subsequentlydropped. The case went to trial in 2009. However, the suspects’ defense attorney failed to appear in court on severaloccasions, and in October 2010, after five prosecution witnesses had already been heard, the defense attorney waseventually replaced with another court-appointed attorney. The case re-started in January 2011, with some of the samewitnesses heard a second time. In November 2011, once again halfway through the prosecution case, the judge, N.R.O.Ombija, declared a mistrial and withdrew from the case due to “misgivings in certain aspects of this case,” forcing it to startover once again with a new judge.43 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | DECEMBER 2011
A rape case, Republic v. Paul Muigai Mwihia, was also pending as of this writing. Mwihiawas charged with being part of a group that gang raped a woman in Nakuru district andassaulted her husband with machetes during the election violence. 169169 Republic v. Paul Muigai Mwihia, Nakuru Magistrate’s Court, CF 7202/08. Case file consulted by Human Rights Watch,April 29, 2011. The case stalled after the magistrate was transferred in the midst of the trial and the accused demanded anew trial. At this writing, the Court of Appeal was hearing submissions as to whether the magistrate should be recalled toNakuru to hear the remainder of the case. Human Rights Watch interview with a police prosecutor, Nakuru, October 24, 2011.“TURNING PEBBLES” 44
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