Willie Kimani Kinuthia (21 April 1984 – 23 June 2016) was a Kenyan human rights lawyer who worked with the International Justice Mission (IJM) in Nairobi and a board member of Right Promotion Protection and also a member of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK)[1]
On 23 June 2016, Kimani alongside Josephat Mwenda, and their taxi driver, Joseph Muiruri, were abducted by four members of Kenya’s Administration Police and subsequently extrajudicially executed.[2] [3]
On 1 July their bodies were recovered from Ol-Donyo Sabuk River with their arms tied behind their backs and with their bodies bearing signs of torture.[1]
Following a three-week investigation, four Administration Police officers — Fredrick Leliman, Stephen Cheburet, Silvia Wanjiku, and Leonard Mwangi — were charged on 18 July 2016 with three counts of murder for the disappearance and murder death of Kimani, Mwenda and Muiruri.[4] [5]
On 24 June 2021, his family called for the expedition of the murder trial, which was still ongoing, 5 years after his murder.[6] On September 20, 2021, a Kenyan judge ruled that the four accused had a case to answer.[7]
On 22 July 2022, three police officers; Fredrick Leliman, Stephen Cheburet, and Sylvia Wanjiku) and police informer Peter Ngugi were found guilty of three counts of murder — of Kimani, his client Josephat Mwenda and driver Joseph Muiruri — officer Leonard Mwangi has been acquitted on all three counts of murder.[8] [9]
Kimani's parents were Paul Kinuthia and Elizabeth Wambui.[10] He was married to Hannah Wanjiku[11] with whom he had two children.[10]
In recognition of his work, Kimani was named 2016 Jurist of the Year and awarded the posthumous award for his bravery in defending the downtrodden in Kenya.[12]
In 2017, Kimani was feted with the Fr. John Anthony Kaiser Human Rights Award by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) for his fight for the rights of the downtrodden in society.[13]