A 25-year old plumber from Kwale County has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after the High Court found him guilty of murdering a businessman six years ago.
Justice Francis Andayi ruled that Fikirini Juma Hassan, alias County Mbili, was among a group that brutally attacked and killed businessman Ali Noor on the night of July 28, 2019, at Denyenye village in Ngombeni, Matuga Sub-County.
Hassan was convicted of murder contrary to Section 203 as read with Section 204 of the Penal Code.
“The prosecution presented consistent, credible, and corroborated evidence linking the accused to the crime,” Justice Andayi said in his judgment.
“The sheer brutality of the attack warrants a severe penalty. Human life must be valued and protected by the law.”
The case, prosecuted by Principal Prosecution Counsel Vallerie Ongeti, saw the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) successfully prove beyond reasonable doubt that Hassan was directly involved in the deadly assault.
“The ODPP remains steadfast in its commitment to ensure justice for victims of violent crimes and to hold perpetrators accountable,” Ongeti said after the ruling.
According to court records, the deceased and his friend had attended a music event at the Bidi Badu Club in Diani on the night of July 27, 2019. They left for home at around 3 a.m. on Noor’s motorcycle but were ambushed in Denyenye by a group of men who pelted them with stones.
The motorcycle crashed, and while Noor’s companion managed to crawl into nearby bushes to hide, Noor was cornered and attacked with stones and pangas.
The victim was rushed to Manyatta Hospital in Likoni and later transferred to Coast General Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries on July 31, 2019.
The survivor later identified four of the assailants, Raul Abdul Noor, Fikirini Juma Hassan, Salmin, and Fadhili before the attackers fled.
Police investigations led to the arrest of Fikirini and Raul, both of whom were positively identified by the eyewitness.
The court noted that the attackers did not steal anything from the victims, ruling out robbery as a motive and concluding that the intent was purely to kill.
Two other suspects implicated in the killing remain at large.