A convicted gangster who fell in love with his victim has lost his bid to have his death sentence overturned.
Kelvin Matundura, 25, was sentenced to death on February 13, 2023, after being convicted of robbery with violence alongside his alleged accomplice Joram Wainaina.
While Matundura failed to convince the court to quash his sentence, Wainaina managed to exploit loopholes in the investigations narrowly escaping punishment.
Matundura was also sentenced to seven years in prison for illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. Meanwhile, Wainaina who had initially been sentenced to 20 years for rape, walked free after his conviction was overturned on appeal.
Matundura’s downfall came when he was arrested on March 16, 2017, during a planned date with the woman who had captured his heart during a violent gang robbery in Bahati area in Nakuru County two nights earlier.
The gang had stormed the home of businessman James Wamugunda at around 10 pm on March 14, 2017 armed with guns.
The men then roughed up the occupants, raped two women, including a house help, cooked meals and drank alcohol in the house before leaving at dawn. However, Matundura made a fatal mistake.
The victims testified in court that the gang subjected them to hours of terror, raping them in different rooms, including the servants’ quarters and the living room, while they lay helpless.
Matundura, who was tasked with guarding the victims in the living room while armed with an AK-47, became smitten with one of the women and struck up a conversation with her.
While the rest of the family was forced to lie face down, Matundura who was aged 19 at the time, allowed the woman to sit on a bed and started chatting with her.
Before leaving, he secretly returned her mobile phone which was among items stolen from the victims and exchanged contacts with the woman.
However, Matundura was angered when one of his gang members raped the woman moments before they fled the scene using the victims' vehicle.
Once the gang was gone, the woman untied the rest of her family and used the phone to call for help.
Later that day, Matundura called her to apologise for what his gang had done and also to profess his feelings for her before revealing where they had abandoned the stolen vehicle.
Blinded by the crush on the woman, he arranged a date and sent her Sh200 as fare.
The woman who was by then working with the police played along as instructed. Unaware that he was walking into a trap, Matundura showed up at Mchanga area in Bahati expecting to meet the woman but instead police officers arrested him.
He confessed to the crime and led officers to a home where he had hidden firearms. The police also arrested the homeowner Josephine Waihuni who was later charged with robbery with violence.
Two months later in May 2017, detectives from the Flying Squad arrested the woman’s nephew Joram Wainaina in Eldoret and he was charged with robbery with violence and rape.
While Waihuni was later acquitted, Matundura and Wainaina were convicted on December 3, 2022 and sentenced on February 13, 2023 by Nakuru Senior Resident Magistrate Yvonne Khatambi.
But aggrieved with their sentences, they filed appeals before the High Court, with Matundura arguing that his sentence was too harsh and that the trial magistrate had failed to consider his defence.
Wainaina, on the other hand, challenged the identification parade conducted by the police, claiming he had been exposed to witnesses and the public before the formal identification process took place.
On Valentines Day this year, Justice Hedwig Ong’udi dismissed Matundura’s appeal, stating that his confession was lawfully obtained and that he had not contested it in court.
“The evidence before the court is that it was the first appellant who led the police to the place where the firearms were recovered. No reason was given to suggest why the police would lie against him,” ruled Justice Ong’udi.
However, Wainaina was set free due to flawed investigations.
The judge faulted the police for exposing him to witnesses before conducting the identification parade.
Furthermore, the prosecution failed to link Wainaina to the names provided by Matundura as members of the gang.
“However, in view of this court’s finding on it above it cannot be used in support of the charge of rape against him. The 2nd appellant is narrowly escaping these charges mainly because of the manner in which the case was investigated and handled by the police,” Justice Ong’udi ruled virtually as she ordered for Wainaina's immediate release.
