Murder: DPP urges Supreme Court to uphold conviction of ex-Venezuelan diplomat

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has urged the Supreme Court to dismiss an appeal by Dwight Sagaray, a former First Secretary at the Venezuelan Embassy in Nairobi, and uphold his 20-year prison sentence for the murder of Olga Fonseca Jimenez in July 2012.

In a petition dated 7th August 2026, Sagaray challenged the Court of Appeal judgment delivered on 7th March 2025, which upheld his conviction and sentence.

In written submissions before the Supreme Court in Petition No. E030 of 2026, the prosecution opposed the appeal, arguing the conviction was supported by sufficient evidence.

It further submitted that communication from Venezuelan authorities terminating Sagaray’s diplomatic mission and cancelling his diplomatic passport brought his diplomatic functions to an end.

It argued that any remaining immunity did not protect him from prosecution for acts outside his diplomatic functions.

The prosecution submitted the conviction was not based solely on motive or association, but on the combined weight of circumstantial evidence considered by the trial court and the Court of Appeal.

The prosecution highlighted evidence relating to a dispute over control of the Venezuelan Embassy, Sagaray’s relationship with Mohammed Ahmed Mohammed Hassan, and events surrounding Fonseca’s murder, arguing that circumstantial evidence can support a conviction where the facts, considered together, establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt and rule out reasonable alternative explanations.

The Supreme Court Deputy Registrar has directed that the petition be placed before the Deputy Chief Justice for empanelment of a bench and further directions.

Sagaray argues that Kenyan courts lack jurisdiction to try him because Venezuela did not expressly waive his diplomatic immunity.

He also contends that his conviction relied on motive, perceived benefit and his association with Mohammed Ahmed Mohammed Hassan, rather than sufficient evidence linking him to the murder.

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