Nairobi club owner sentenced to five years in jail for killing his customer on the rooftop

 Jackson Maina Wangui the owner of Club Click at the Mililani Law Courts during the hearing of the case. Photo: Fidelis Kabunyi

A Nairobi club owner who killed one of his customers in 2012 following a disagreement has been sentenced to five years in jail.

Justice Stella Mutuku ruled that Jackson Maina Wangui, the owner of Click Club, caused the death of Kelvin Onyango by shooting him on the roof top of his club along Baricho Road on the night of May 7, 2012.

"I have considered the evidence and mitigation tendered by the accused and come to the conclusion that he must pay for his acts. I therefore sentence him to five years' imprisonment," ruled Ms Mutuku.

Mr Maina escaped the death sentence by a whisker after the judge found him guilty of manslaughter instead of the more serious offence of murder.

The judge found that it was Maina who pulled the trigger but had no intention of killing the sales executive to warrant a conviction of murder.

Mutuku also upheld submissions by police investigator John Shegu that the bar owner was careless for going to a club with a loaded gun knowing he could have found people who were drunk and disorderly.

The judge concluded that he never cared about the life of the man he killed as he never bothered to call for an ambulance or take him to hospital if the shooting was really a mistake.

"After shooting, he left the deceased and went to report to the police. He did not take him to hospital, did not call an ambulance or help. That was reckless behaviour, which shows he did not care about the life of the person he killed," ruled Mutuku.

She however noted that the prosecution had not proved there was malice and intention to kill.

The deceased had visited the club in the company of his friend when a disagreement ensued between him and Maina.

The saga surrounded two narratives. In one, the deceased was said to have stolen a mobile phone while the other theory was that they fought over a woman.

When he was put on his defence, Maina admitted he was the owner of the gun that killed Onyango but said he did not pull the trigger.

He argued that Onyango was being attacked by other revellers for stealing a phone and he attempted to save him before the incident happened. The judge dismissed the defence, ruling that his statements were contradictory and unconvincing.

Witnesses and police said a confrontation started on the second floor of the club before bouncers, in the company of Maina, took Onyango to the fourth floor where he was shot in the head at point-blank range at about 2am.