Wacucu’s partner in crime appeals life sentence

by Wahome Thuku

A man linked to one of the most dreaded criminal gangs is asking the Court of Appeal to release him from jail.

Timothy Irungu Ndegwa could be the last of the infamous gang, which comprised of Anthony Ngugi Kanagi alias Wacucu, Gerald Wambugu Munyeria alias Wanugu and Bernard Matheri alias Rasta.

Mr Irungu was sentenced to death in December 2002 for the murder of an army officer Geoffrey Baariu Luruti. The sentence was this year commuted to life imprisonment by President Kibaki.

Irungu claims the evidence used by the High Court was adduced by an accomplice, Ms Zipporah Wangeci, and should have been rejected.

Mr Luruti, who was based at Kahawa Barracks in Nairobi, was shot dead on November 13, 1995 in his car and the body dumped outside his house at Kahawa Sukari Estate.

State Counsel Victor Mule, however, said the conviction was proper as Wangeci was a police informer and not an accomplice.

Mr Mule said the woman only accompanied the gang without knowing what they were up to. She only learned of their mission on the way to kill the officer when it was too late to pull out. She later reported the incidence to police leading to the arrest. The court will give ruling on December 18.