MERU, Kenya — The High Court in Meru has sentenced a man to 10 years in prison for the killing of a prison officer who disappeared more than a decade ago, in a landmark conviction secured despite the victim’s body never being recovered.
Lochuku Lekepei was convicted of manslaughter over the death of Morris Munene Mate, an officer attached to Isiolo GK Prison, bringing to a close an 11-year investigation that relied heavily on forensic and circumstantial evidence.
Morris disappeared on July 23, 2015, after travelling to Oldonyiro in Isiolo North Sub-County on what investigators described as a business trip. Despite extensive searches, his body was never found.
Investigators from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) later recovered blood-stained clothing and a blood-stained stone in the Mlima wa Chui area, providing the first major breakthrough in the case.
DNA analysis confirmed that the blood belonged to the missing prison officer, while forensic investigations established that Lekepei had communicated with Morris and was in the same geographical area shortly before the officer disappeared.
In a judgment delivered on July 16, 2026, the High Court found that the prosecution had proved, through circumstantial and forensic evidence, that Morris had died as a result of an unlawful act, even though his body had never been recovered.
The court subsequently substituted the original murder charge with manslaughter before convicting Lekepei under Sections 202 and 205 of the Penal Code and sentencing him to 10 years’ imprisonment.
The ruling marks one of the rare successful “no-body” homicide prosecutions in Kenya, demonstrating that a conviction can be sustained where compelling forensic evidence and circumstantial facts establish that a victim is dead and identify the person responsible.
The case also highlights the growing role of scientific evidence, including DNA profiling and forensic communication analysis, in resolving complex criminal investigations where traditional evidence such as a recovered body is unavailable.
