ADVERTISEMENT The High Court in Mombasa has sentenced former Likoni Officer Commanding Station (OCS) Yunus Athman to life imprisonment for the 2018 murder of an unarmed civilian — a landmark ruling that has reignited debate on police accountability in Kenya.
Delivering the hard-hitting judgment, Lady Justice Wendy Kagendo Micheni found the former chief inspector guilty of fatally shooting 20-year-old Mbaraka Maitha Omar at Mwenza Village in Likoni.
The prosecution, led by Ngiri Wangui, called more than 20 witnesses who placed Athman at the scene and dismantled claims that the victim posed any threat.
Court testimony established that Omar was unarmed and did not resist arrest when Athman confronted him over allegations of goat theft. Despite this, the officer fired multiple shots, killing the young man on the spot.
The trial further exposed troubling allegations of attempts to obscure the true circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting.
In a strongly worded sentencing decision, Justice Micheni said the court had carefully considered mitigation, the pre-sentence report and the victim impact statement before imposing the maximum custodial penalty.
The judge stressed that Athman, as a police officer, had a statutory duty to protect life — not take it.
“Abuse of state power strikes at the heart of justice and must attract a deterrent penalty,” the court observed.
Members of the victim’s family told the court they continue to suffer deep psychological trauma, describing the killing as malicious and a profound betrayal of public trust by someone sworn to uphold the law.
The court directed Athman to exercise his right of appeal within 14 days against both conviction and sentence.
The ruling is expected to fuel renewed scrutiny of police conduct and strengthen calls for accountability within Kenya’s security services.
