For nearly two decades, Edward Muriuki Nyaga woke up behind prison walls carrying the weight of a crime that ended a man's life and destroyed his own.
Last week, the former Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldier, who worked as a truck driver, walked out of Kamiti Maximum Prison a free man after a court concluded that, having spent almost 17 years in prison, he had paid his debt to society and earned a chance to rebuild his life.
Before prison, Nyaga's life was on a different trajectory.
He wore the uniform of the Kenya Defence Forces, drove military trucks and earned a steady income that supported his family in Embu County. To relatives and neighbours, he represented success and stability. He was a disciplined serviceman with a promising future.
Like many Kenyans at the time, Nyaga became fascinated by stories about red mercury, a mysterious substance often touted as extremely valuable but more commonly associated with elaborate fraud schemes.
Through an acquaintance, Hannington Mbaka, alias Daudi, he was introduced to Patrick Ndung'u Kariuki, who claimed to be a dealer in the substance.
During a meeting in Embu Town, Nyaga's wife handed over Sh80,000 to Kariuki with a promise that an additional Sh70,000 would follow.
But the mercury never arrived. The transaction turned out to be a scam, and Nyaga lost his money.
The loss angered him, but instead of reporting the matter to authorities or pursuing legal avenues, he chose revenge — a decision that would cost him everything.
A former soldier, Edward Muriuki Nyaga (in white), was charged with the killing of a businessman who was kidnapped in Nairobi.
Photo credit: File| Nation Media Group
On the evening of July 21, 2009, Kariuki left his home in Nairobi's Ngara Estate after informing his wife, Grace Gathoni, that he was meeting a friend travelling to Embu.
For six agonising days, Kariuki remained missing as his family searched for answers.
Meanwhile, money was quietly disappearing from his Equity Bank account.
Bank records and CCTV footage presented in court later revealed a disturbing trail. Withdrawals of Sh20,000 were repeatedly made from locations in Githurai, Embu, Tea Room and Ngara.
On July 27, 2009, the bank blocked the account.
Later that night, Kariuki's body was discovered dumped in Mwihoko Estate in Kasarani.
He had suffered multiple fractures to the head and face, bruises to the chest and several stab wounds concentrated around the neck. Investigators concluded that he had been held captive, tortured and eventually killed.
Police investigations quickly narrowed in on Nyaga. When officers searched his house in Kahawa Wendani, they recovered military items and arrested him with the help of members of the public.
Throughout the trial, Nyaga denied any involvement in Kariuki's murder.
He admitted knowing Daudi, whom he described as a neighbour from his rural home, but insisted that his role was limited to helping withdraw money using an ATM card. He maintained that he neither knew nor had ever met the deceased.
The prosecution, however, assembled a compelling chain of circumstantial evidence.
Safaricom records showed that after Kariuki disappeared, Nyaga inserted his own SIM card into the deceased's mobile phone on three separate occasions.
The handset was eventually traced to a money lender who told investigators that Daudi had left it as collateral for a Sh1,000 loan.
Witnesses also testified about the bad blood between Nyaga and Kariuki arising from the fake red mercury deal, with the prosecution arguing that the murder was motivated by revenge.
Court finds reform after years behind bars
In 2017, the High Court agreed.
The court convicted Nyaga of murder, describing the killing as "painful and torturous".
While acknowledging the financial loss he had suffered, the judge noted that "lawful avenues existed for recovering" the money and that personal grievances could never justify taking a life.
Nyaga was sentenced to death and, three years later, the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction after he challenged the lower court's ruling, finding that the evidence pointed to his guilt.
But by then, Kenya's criminal justice landscape had changed.
Following the landmark Supreme Court decision declaring the mandatory death sentence unconstitutional, courts across the country began reviewing sentences imposed under the old regime.
Nyaga's death sentence was set aside and replaced with a 30-year prison term effective November 2, 2017.
Having already spent years in custody awaiting trial and appeal, he settled into prison life knowing he still faced a long road ahead.
According to reports filed in court, Nyaga embraced rehabilitation.
He participated in prison programmes, maintained good discipline and earned favourable assessments from correctional officers.
He was a first offender before the murder, had strong family support despite the financial devastation his case had caused, and his father had reportedly sold all his cattle to hire lawyers in a desperate attempt to save his son.
When Nyaga later returned to court seeking a sentence review, he argued that after accounting for remission earned through good behaviour, he had less than three years remaining on his sentence.
The court ordered a fresh probation assessment, and its findings were overwhelmingly positive.
"The convict has demonstrated positive behavioural change during his imprisonment. He enjoys strong family support and would be accepted back into the community," the report stated.
In its determination, the High Court weighed the objectives of sentencing.
On one hand stood the memory of a man who had been tortured and killed, and a family whose lives had been shattered. One of Kariuki's daughters had reportedly dropped out of school and worked as a house help for two years to support her siblings.
On the other stood a prisoner who had spent nearly 17 years behind bars and appeared genuinely reformed.
Last week, the High Court converted the remainder of Nyaga's custodial sentence into a two-year probation term.
The court ordered that Nyaga be released from prison immediately and placed under the supervision of the Kibera Probation Officer for two years.
During this period, he must report regularly, stay out of trouble and comply with the conditions of his probation. If he violates any of the terms, he will be sent back to prison.
