VOI, Kenya — A police officer known by his pseudonym “Soldier Boy” was convicted on Thursday for the 2019 murder of a man he shot dead at a restaurant in Taveta town.
Corporal Mark David Gitahi was found guilty of murdering Esau Juma Mwanguku on March 29, 2019, at Rockland restaurant, where Mwanguku was drinking with a friend.
The Shooting
The officer approached Mwanguku’s table, drew his pistol, and fired four shots. Mwanguku succumbed to three gunshot wounds to the back.
Investigation and Prosecution
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) investigated the killing and recommended murder charges to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
The DPP, after independently reviewing the evidence, upheld the recommendation and presented the case before the High Court in Voi.
The prosecution called fifteen witnesses and presented additional exhibits.
Conviction and Sentencing
Gitahi, who had been free on bond, had his bail cancelled upon conviction. He will remain at Manyani GK Prison pending sentencing on June 2, 2026.
The conviction marks a rare instance of a police officer being held criminally accountable for an on-duty or duty-adjacent killing in Kenya, where IPOA has faced persistent challenges securing prosecutions and convictions in cases of police violence despite thousands of complaints filed since its establishment in 2011.
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