A High Court Judge has convicted Wajir teacher for killing a 16-year-old girl under unclear circumstances bringing the 8 years trial murder trial to a closure.
The convicted teacher, Noor Ahmed Ismail was found guilty by Justice John Onyiego of Garissa High Court.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) had called nine witnesses to prove its case against Noor.
Noor killed the minor in the Kotulo sub-location of Tarbaj Sub County on May 12, 2016.
The girl, GNA, was found dead by a woman in the area who later reported the incident to other villagers.
Villagers and elders traced footmarks of gumboots that led them to Noor’s home who was later identified as the prime suspect.
The elders also recovered a blood-stained knife used to kill GNA and gumboots that Ismail wore which were also soiled with blood.
The ODPP relied heavily on investigations by government scientists Elizabeth Waithera and William Munyoki both attached to the Government Chemist, and Chief Government Pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor to prove its case against Noor.
Dr Oduor told the trial court that he conducted a postmortem on the body of the GNA and although the body was partially decomposed, there was an incised wound from the neck of the deceased and two stab wounds on the side of the chest.
But he told the court that due to religious reasons, he did not open the body of the deceased but he still formed the opinion that the cause of the death was as a result of multiple injuries due to a penetrating trauma.
The postmortem report was presented as the first exhibit in the case.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) had submitted the blood-stained dress that GNA wore on the day she was killed together with the blood-stained knife, gumboots and a kikoi that were recovered from Noor’s house for analysis. Noor had worn the kikoi on the day he killed the minor.
Investigations through DNA established that blood stains on all items submitted by the DCI were from the same person and the ODPP submitted the findings in the court as exhibits.
Munyoki, a government analyst was tasked with ascertaining whether soil samples collected from GNA’s dress and Noor’s gumboots matched and his investigations established that the soil stains on both items were from the same geographical area.
At the end of the trial, Justice Onyiego said the evidence of Dr. Oduor who conducted the autopsy indicated that GNA died as a result of multiple injuries due to penetrating trauma.
“From this piece of evidence, it cannot be denied that the accused person must have intended to cause the deceased grievous harm or death hence proof of malice aforethought,” stated the judge.
