Ex-Governor’s Son Pleads for Mercy, Claims 20-Year Sentence Was Born of Family Intimidation

A man who claims to be the son of former Nyeri governor, the late Nderitu Gachagua, has pleaded with the High Court for mercy, claiming that the offence of robbery with violence was framed after he refused to hand over crucial documents related to properties of his father’s estate.

Jackson Kihara, who is servingna 20 year sentence for robbery with violence, made the damning allegations against his uncle, former Deputy President Gachagua, before the High Court judge Alexander Muteti while seeking a review of the sentence.

He told the judge that he had been threatened and intimidated by his uncle (impeached deputy president) in a bid to compel him to hand over crucial documents entrusted to him by his late father in relation to the family.

“The reason I am in this situation is that I declined to give my uncle the documents entrusted to me by my late father in relation to the family estate,” Kihara told Justice Muteti.

He revealed to the court that he had made frantic efforts to resolve the matter out of court, but to no avail.

“I have attempted to reach out to my uncle Gachagua to resolve this matter, but he has declined. My family member, including my sister, has tried to reach him in vain,” Kihara told Justice Muteti.

Asked why he has changed his mind and seeks a review of the sentence, Kihara says he has been promised safety by the government, and that is why he is making the damning revelations.

Noticing that the revelation was made nine years after the conviction, the Judge heard that the same was not produced in the lower court as part of the defence.

Did you make that revelation in the lower court in your defence? “No, I could not make it out of intimidation and threats by my Uncle, to the point of abducting my family. But last year, the state assured me protection where I gathered courage to open up,” Kihara responded.

But the DPP has denied those allegations that the state promised Kihara’s security and safety and that they would help him leave prison.

The application for review comes at a time when Kihara has raised serious allegations in an open court involving members of his family and his legal representation.

Also in his plea, he is urging the court to remit the four years that he spent in remand.

Kihara has accused his uncle, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, of allegedly intimidating him in connection with a long-running dispute over documents tied to a multi-million-shilling family estate.

He claims the alleged pressure is linked to inheritance matters currently before the court.

He further alleged that his legal counsel vanished after receiving 95 per cent of an agreed Ksh500,000 legal fee for filing an application seeking review of his sentence, but he did not fully pursue the matter.

“My attempts to reach the lawyer have since been unsuccessful.”

The claims have also been escalated to the Law Society of Kenya’s disciplinary mechanisms, with the matter reportedly filed before the Law Society of Kenya Disciplinary Committee, and brought to the attention of former LSK President Faith Odhiambo.

Kihara, who is serving a 20-year jail term, had been convicted of robbery with violence on March 16, 2015, by Magistrate Hellen Onkwani.

Okwani had handed him a death sentence that was later quashed by Justice Ngenye Macharia, who ordered a retrial.

On April 20, 2020, Magistrate Bernard Ochoi sentenced him to 20 years’ imprisonment to be calculated from the time he was arrested in 2015.

Justice Muteti will now rule on whether to review a 20-year prison sentence imposed on Kihara on June 17, 2026.