Policeman gets 10 years for killing missionary

A POLICEMAN who shot dead an Irish missionary in Kenya seven years ago was yesterday jailed for ten years.

Franciscan brother Larry Timmons, a prominent human rights activist, died after being shot several times in January 1997.

Police officer Francis Kimanzi Mbaiya was initially charged with the cleric’s murder, but this was reduced to manslaughter.

Mbaiya, who has been on remand for the last four years, will have to serve a further six years.

The High Court in Nairobi jailed Mbaiya after he admitted firing several times at Brother Timmons.

“Incidents involving police officers recklessly shooting innocent people are on the increase in Kenya, and are causing a lot of suffering to the families of those who lose their loved ones,” said High Court Justice A Visram.

The court heard that police were called to the St Francis Secondary School in Njoro on January 22, 1997, after robbers raided it in the night. When Mbaiya arrived at the school compound he opened fire killing Brother Timmons, who was the headmaster of the school.

Prosecution witnesses told the court the cleric was sleeping in his house when he was attacked and robbed of money and a watch. The robbers then took him to the school’s offices and forced him to open the room in which money was kept. The robbers were armed with machetes and clubs. They fled when they heard gunfire.

The court heard the policeman, on arrival, fired indiscriminately without warning that he was a police officer. Br Timmons shouted for the policeman to stop firing, but he continued spraying the compound.

Mr Justice Visram said he failed to understand why a police officer with 14 years experience would continue shooting when he was begged to stop and the robbers fled. The accused said he fired to scare the robbers who were in the compound when he arrived.