Why Ex-KDF Major Mugure was sentenced to life in prison

Nearly seven years after a chilling family massacre shocked the country, the High Court on Wednesday sentenced former Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Major Peter Mugure Mwaura to life imprisonment for the brutal murders of his estranged wife and their two children.

Sending Mugure to spend the remainder of his life in prison, Justice Martin Muya described the murders as barbaric, noting that they reflected the growing scourge of femicide in the country and warranted a stiff sentence.

The former military officer was convicted of murdering his estranged wife, Joyce Syombua, 31, their 10-year-old daughter Shanice Maua and five-year-old son Prince Michael in October 2019.

He later concealed their bodies in the boot of his vehicle before burying them in a shallow grave in Thigithu village, Nanyuki.

In sentencing Mugure, Justice Muya said the convict had shown no remorse for the horrific killings and that the court had a duty to impose a sentence that reflected the gravity of the offence.

“The convict has not shown any iota of remorse. The offence of murder carries severe punishment. This was a femicide offence and these offences call for severe punishment,” he ruled.

The judge said he had considered the victim impact assessment report, the defence’s mitigation and the prosecution’s plea for the death penalty before concluding that life imprisonment was the appropriate sentence.

“I have gone through the victim impact assessment report and the court has considered the same, but the murders of the three deceased persons were barbaric. The prosecution has called for the death penalty. I am mindful of the Supreme Court decision in the famous Muruatetu case, but considering the circumstances of this case and bearing in mind the period the accused has been in custody, I sentence him to life imprisonment,” he said.

Justice Muya found that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mugure meticulously planned the murders before luring his estranged wife and two children to the Nanyuki Airbase, where he was stationed.

From the court proceedings, Collins Pamba, a casual workers and a key witness in the case, revealed that Mugure killed the three and later sought his help to dispose of the bodies.

The tragedy began with what appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation, when Syombua and the children visited Mugure at his residence at Laikipia Airbase in Nanyuki.

What happened next was meticulously documented in the chilling confession by Pamba, who worked as a sanitary orderly at the officers’ mess who would become the prosecution’s star witness.

According to his statement, Mugure lured him into the nightmare on the evening of October 26, 2019.

Pamba had been in Nairobi that day visiting his girlfriend. While returning to Nanyuki by matatu, he received multiple calls from Mugure, who claimed he had “work” for him at the airbase.

After several missed calls, Pamba finally talked to Mugure when he reached Nanyuki around 5 pm. Mugure instructed him to meet at a hotel in Nanyuki town then sent him to the officers’ mess to wait.

After waiting for hours and Mugure failing to appear, Pamba returned to his house at Thingithu estate. At 10:16 pm, a message on Pamba’s phone showed Mugure had tried calling him at 7:19 pm. When Pamba called back, Mugure insisted he come to the airbase immediately for the “job”.

Mugure led Pamba not to his own room (A3), but to the adjacent room (A4) which was unoccupied at the moment. Once inside, Mugure locked the door and directed Pamba toward the bathroom. The light was broken and Mugure used his phone flashlight.

What Pamba saw next would haunt him forever! In the bathroom lay two bodies wrapped in transparent gunny bags, tied with rope. One was a girl child with plaited hair, wearing a white T-shirt and black trousers, lying face down. In the bathtub was another body of a baby boy with a shaven head, in a T-shirt, no trousers, and also facing down.

Mugure threatened to kill Pamba if he ever told anyone, promising him recruitment into the military during the upcoming national recruitment in exchange for his silence. He demanded Pamba’s academic certificates as “proof” of the promise.

Pamba said he helped Mugure carry the bodies to his vehicle, at the parking bay. They first carried the body of the boy and placed him in the boot, then carried the body of the girl.

Mugure had removed the spare tyre to create space for the bodies.

But the horror was not over. Mugure led Pamba to his actual room. Inside, behind the chairs, lay the body of Syombua. She was in a white trouser, red shirt, face was covered with a poncho.

The body was not in a gunny bag. Mugure ordered him to help him put the body in a gunny bag, tie it and then carry it to the parking bay.

Mugure drove to a dump site in Thingithu estate where contractors deposited heaps of soil and put off the lights. A shallow grave had already been dug. They carried the wife’s body first, then the boy, then the girl. They placed all the bodies in one grave.

Mugure removed a spade from the rear seat and began burying the bodies, returning the dug soil into the shallow grave, assisted by Pamba.

After ‘final touches’ on the grave. They then drove away and Mugure dropped Pamba along the way.

After investigations into mobile phone records and movements, detectives zeroed in on Pamba. He was questioned by DCI and military officers in November 2019 at Laikipia Airbase. He revealed what had transpired, and led them to the grave where the three had been buried.

According to Pamba’s testimony, as they drove to the grave site, Mugure told him he loved the lady and wanted to marry her as a second wife, but she was not faithful and she only wanted him to spend more money on her with her children. “He also told me the lady tried to interfere with his marriage with the first wife when the first wife had no problem with her.”

The bodies were then retrieved and Pamba placed in police custody.

Post-mortem examination reports showed Syombua died from blunt force trauma, while the children died of strangulation.

Pamba, initially charged alongside Mugure with three counts of murder, entered into a plea bargain with the DPP.

His murder charges were withdrawn and some substituted with the lesser charge of being an accessory after the fact of murder contrary to Section 222 of the Penal Code. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment in May 2021, then turned State witness against Mugure.

Mugure and Syombua were in a protracted conflict over child custody, paternity and financial support for their two children.

Their disputes resulted in court interventions where DNA tests confirmed Mugure as the biological father of the two and ordered him to pay monthly child maintenance.

The judge held that the killings were deliberate and premeditated, finding that the prosecution had established its case through circumstantial and forensic evidence.

Pamba was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment after agreeing to testify for the prosecution.

The prosecution also relied on DNA evidence, mobile phone records and post-mortem reports as evidences for the case.

Justice Muya further found that Mugure had scouted the burial site days before the murders, demonstrating the killings were carefully planned and executed.

In mitigation, Mugure told the court he had endured a “highly charged and emotive criminal trial” in which 26 prosecution witnesses testified against him.

While maintaining his innocence, he said he respected the authority of the court despite disagreeing with the conviction. He informed the judge that he had instructed his lawyers not to challenge the legality or severity of the sentence, but to appeal only against the conviction.

“I have walked through this highly charged and emotive criminal trial where 26 witnesses have testified. I respect the decision of this court, for it presently binds me in ways that no one can possibly imagine,” Mugure told the court. “Nonetheless, and with tremendous respect for the court, I am unable to agree with the verdict. It is for that reason I have instructed my advocates not to challenge the legality or severity of the sentence imposed by your Lordship, but to challenge the conviction.”

Although the prosecution wanted a death penalty for Mugure, Justice Muya said he was guided by a Supreme Court decision on sentencing as well as Mugure’s time in custody  to sentence him to life imprisonment on each of the three counts of murder, ordering the sentences to run concurrently.

Mugure has 14 days to appeal against the conviction and sentence.