Former Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) officer Peter Mugure has been sentenced to life imprisonment after the High Court convicted him of murdering his wife and their two children.
Justice Martin Muya imposed the sentence on Tuesday, saying the nature of the killings justified life imprisonment despite the period Mugure had already spent in custody during the trial.
“I have gone through the victim impact assessment report and taken it into consideration that the murders of the three were barbaric,” Justice Muya said.
“In the circumstances of this case, and bearing in mind the time the accused person has been in custody, I sentence him to life imprisonment.”
Mugure was convicted of killing his wife, Joyce Syombua Maua, 31, their 10-year-old daughter Shanice Mugure Mwaura, also known as Shanice Maua, and their five-year-old son Peter Mwaura Junior, alias Prince Michael.
The prosecution had asked the court to impose the death penalty, arguing that the murders were particularly heinous because the victims were members of the convict’s own family.
In determining the sentence, the judge considered the victim impact assessment report, the circumstances of the case and the period Mugure had remained in custody before concluding that a life sentence was appropriate.
Although the court considered the mitigation presented by the defence, Justice Muya held that the gravity of the offences outweighed the mitigating factors.
After sentencing, Mugure told the court he was dissatisfied with both the conviction and the punishment imposed.
“With tremendous respect to the court, I am unable to agree with the verdict,” he submitted at the dock.
Justice Muya informed him that he has a constitutional right to appeal both the conviction and the sentence before the Court of Appeal.
The case arose from the disappearance of Joyce Syombua and her two children in October 2019.
Prosecutors told the court that the murders were committed at the Laikipia Airbase in Nanyuki before the victims’ bodies were later recovered during investigations.
During the trial, the prosecution relied on witness testimony and forensic evidence to link Mugure to the killings. The court ultimately found that the evidence proved the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, resulting in his conviction.