IJM – Willie Kimani worked for IJM and was defending 24-year-old Josephat Mwenda, who was also found dead.
Four police officers have been charged in connection with the murder of a Christian lawyer, his client and their taxi driver in Kenya which sparked widespread protests.
Willie Kimani, Josephat Mwenda and their driver Joseph Muiruri disappeared last month in the capital city of Nairobi after Kimani filed a case on behalf of Mwenda against a police officer who allegedly shot him.
Their bodies were found north-east of Nairobi on 1 July after an extensive search led by Kenyan police and IJM staff.
Kimani, a 32-year-old human rights lawyer who worked for the Christian charity International Justice Mission (IJM), was himself a practising Christian and father of two. He was defending a claim by Mwenda in a case dating from April 2015 over an incident where an officer from the Administration Police (AP) shot and injured Mwenda at a traffic stop. Mwenda went on to be charged with traffic offenses and the alleged illegal possession of drugs.
The two men and Muiruri, their driver, went missing shortly after visiting a Nairobi court house on 23 June, and eight days later, on 1 July, the bodies of the three men were found in the Ol-Donyo Sabuk River.
IJM, which opened its Kenya office in 2001, works with Kenya’s Public Prosecutor to bring criminal charges against corrupt police officers and have helped secure the release of around 200 people imprisoned on false charges.
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Its CEO, Gary Haugen, said on Twitter: “If they thought killing my brother Willie would end his fight, they didn’t know him, or us”. Haugen founded IJM as an organisation “inspired by God’s call to love all people, and seek justice”.
IJM said on its website: “We strongly condemn the perpetrators of these murders and the horrific violence inflicted upon these men. IJM exists to protect the poor from violence, and Willie’s life was taken while courageously pursuing that mission. As we work to provide comfort and support for the families…we are as committed as ever to our IJM Kenya team and to their struggle for justice in their nation. We will seek justice for Willie, Josephat, and Joseph, and will not cease in pursuit of this case until that end is secured.”
IJM has launched an online petition on Avaaz, the international online campaigning platform, to demand that Kenya’s president, Uhuru Kenyatta, secures justice for the murders. The petition has collected more than 33,000 signatories so far.
