Court Convicts Two Police Officers for Torture‑Murder, Dumping Body in River Nzoia.

In a landmark judgment today, a Kenyan court found two police constables guilty of torturing a young man to death and disposing of his body in River Nzoia – a case that is rattling public confidence and exposing deep fault lines in the country’s policing system.

Court documents reveal that on October 4, 2022, 21‑year‑old Dennis Lusava was subjected to brutal assault by police constables Reuben Yator and Godwine Wekesa Sirengo after a seemingly minor altercation in Mbururu town. Eyewitnesses recall community members intervened to prevent street harassment, but the officers reportedly detained Lusava at Mbururu Police Station shortly afterward.

Incarcerated and allegedly tortured while in custody, Lusava later died from his injuries. The two officers then allegedly loaded his body into a sack and dumped it into River Nzoia, hoping to erase evidence of their crime. Months later, locals discovered Lusava’s remains swept downstream, unearthing a chilling mystery that shook the region.

On Friday, a magistrate upheld suffocating evidence—including testimony from community interveners and forensic details—convicting Yator and Sirengo of murder. The ruling marks a rare and hard‑won judicial rebuke of state agents, coming amid growing concern over police impunity.

Public outrage has been fierce. Residents of Likuyani Sub‑County had previously set ablaze the Mbururu Police Station in protest after Lusava first disappeared after being arrested for not wearing a mask, reflecting simmering anger at heavy-handed enforcement and lack of transparency.

Civil liberties advocates hailed the verdict as a watershed moment in Kenya’s struggle with police reforms. “Today the law delivered accountability against those who abuse state authority,” said one legal expert. But they cautioned that systemic change is urgently needed to curb further abuses.

The sentencing date for Yator and Sirengo is expected next week. Meanwhile, fresh calls have mounted for investigations into other unresolved cases involving police torture and custodial killings.