Seven Years, No Killer: Mandago’s Family Devastated as Court Jails Phone Suspect but Fails to Name Brother’s Murderer
The charge sheet stated that between May 25 and 26, 2019, at Chepkanga Trading Centre in Eldoret East, Uasin Gishu County, the accused — allegedly armed with a rungu, metal bar and panga — robbed Kinyor of his phone and an unknown amount of money and, after the robbery, killed him.
Paul Biwott addresses members of the press outside the Eldoret Law Courts following the sentencing ruling in the 2019 murder case of Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago’s brother, saying the family is yet to receive full closure after the court failed to conclusively establish who killed their kin.
The family of Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago remains in anguish after an Eldoret court sentenced a man to seven years in prison over the 2019 death of the senator’s elder brother — yet failed to conclusively establish who killed him.
In a ruling delivered at an Eldoret court, Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Areri convicted Lemmy Kipkurui Kosgey on charges of robbery with violence and handling stolen property linked to the death of Johana Kirwa Kinyor. However, the court did not make a definitive finding on who was responsible for the killing itself — a question that has haunted the family for nearly seven years.
“I have considered the nature of the offence and the circumstances of the case and sentenced the accused to serve seven years in prison,” ruled Magistrate Areri.
Kinyor, 56 at the time of his death, was a Kenya Pipeline Corporation employee who had recently been transferred from Kisumu to Eldoret. His lifeless body was discovered at a hotel under construction in Eldoret in May 2019.
Kosgey was found in possession of Kinyor’s mobile phone, valued at Sh10,000, shortly after the killing. The charge sheet stated that between May 25 and 26, 2019, at ChepkangaTrading Centre in Eldoret East, Uasin Gishu County, the accused — allegedly armed with a rungu, metal bar and panga — robbed Kinyor of his phone and an unknown amount of money and, after the robbery, killed him.
Despite the gravity of the allegations, the conviction centered on robbery and handling of stolen goods, leaving unresolved the central issue of who murdered the deceased.
Before sentencing, Kosgey pleaded for leniency.
“Your honor, I ask for forgiveness for the crime that I have been accused of committing and I promise never again to repeat the same offence in my life,” he told the court.
He was represented by lawyer Oscah Oduor, the chairman of the Law Society of Kenya North Rift chapter.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions presented five key witnesses during the trial in a bid to link the accused to the crime.
For the Mandago family, however, the sentence has done little to ease their pain. While the court has punished a man found with the deceased’s phone, it stopped short of conclusively answering the long-awaited question: who killed Johana Kirwa Kinyor?
Sources close to the family say they feel justice remains incomplete.
“Seven years later, we still don’t know who actually killed him. That is the most painful part,” Paul Biwott and Joel Kering said after the ruling.
The case underscores lingering concerns over unresolved homicide investigations, even where related convictions are secured. As the convicted man begins his prison term, the Mandago family is left grappling with a verdict that delivers punishment — but not closure.
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