Venezuelan diplomat Dwight Sagaray and three Kenyans convicted for the murder of the Venezuelan Ambassador Olga Fonseca have asked the court not to sentence them to death.
Sagaray and three Kenyans- Ahmed Omindo, Alex Sifuna and Moses Kiprotich Kalyaim their mitigation on Friday, told High court judge Roselyn Korir that the court should not make a mistake of sentencing them harshly.
The four were found guilty of conspiring to kill Olga, Latin American country’s acting ambassador 10 years ago at her residence in Runda estate in Nairobi county.
Through their lawyers John Khaminwa and Katwa Kigen, the accused persons said they are remorseful.
Khaminwa who represents Ahmed said he swore using the Holy Quran that he has nothing to do with the death of of Fonseca.
“Please do not kill this young man at all,his wife is in court the bond that has brought them together is their commitment to Quran”, Khaminwa told court.
The defence objected the Victim impact report tabled by the probation officer by calling it a love letter.
The lawyers questioned how the report was extracted given the fact that there was language barrier between Kenya and Venezuela.
The report according to them was inadmissible because it was not signed by the maker.
“As we stand here today, there is no victim impact report before the Court, we ask you to reject the report”, the court was told.
However, the victim family urged the court to sentence the convicts to the maximum sentence as per the Kenyan Laws, saying they demonstrated the pain of losing their loved one.
The Judge however rejected the defence application to dismiss the probation report saying the court understood the place of victim impact report in the CJS.
She said the practice has always been for the probation officer to reach the victims and interview them.
“The objection to the report has no legal basis, the judge said.
Lawyer Katwa Kigen representing Sagaray, told the court that even before sentencing, they have served a notice of appeal.
He said the probation report acknowledged that there was someone called Mohamed who was never apprehended and who would have shed light of the murder before this Court.
Kigen said Sagaray told the probation officer that if the ambassador had told him that she was fearing for her life, he would have taken all it needed to protect her.
Thr prosecution, however, told court that the offence is serious and law provides for the penalty of death by hanging which has since been repealed to death sentence.
” I would invite the court to consider that the court should be guided by the law in determining the sentence”, thr prosecution said.
Justice Korir adjourned the sentence. He directed that a sentencing date will be delivered on notice.
On March 10, Justice Korir rejected a bid by Sagaray, the first secretary at the embassy to be released on bail pending sentencing.
While declining Sagaray bail application, the judge noted the murder charge against him is a capital offence punishable by death or life imprisonment.
She said once released he will absolutely abscord the court to face the harsh punishment of the offence.
On January 25, Justice Korir convicted the accused persons.
Olga was found murdered in her house and her body was found lying on her bed with a wire cord around her neck, hands and legs.
Olga, 57, was manually strangled to death on July 26 2012, less than two weeks after arriving in Kenya to head the diplomatic mission.
