Munene hit the headlines in 2011 after he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to the gallows by Justice Mohamed Warsame. PHOTO| MAGGIE NJUKI Summary
- “If I could do things differently, I would. But I can’t take back time.”
- Munene has a degree in economics from the University of Nairobi and another in law that he earned online from the University of London while still incarcerated.
- He takes pride in his publications, which he wrote behind bars and that are now used in tertiary institutions as teaching guides.
- His research was based on prison enterprises that he was able to operate while in prison.
- Though his appeal was rejected in 2012, Munene hopes the Supreme Court will be his big break.
Dickson Munene sits unperturbed among other graduands during the 42nd graduation ceremony at Kenyatta University. Beneath his flowing gowns are a striped shirt and trouser that easily give him away.
Two hawk-eyed warders sit a few metres away from him.
The death-row inmate and former inspector of police is today graduating with an MBA in entrepreneurship.
His story is not about to fade beyond the horizons of the walls of the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison. Fueled by heavy media frenzy about his case, the killer cop is not ready to go down quietly without a fight.
“Prison is about monotony, it is routine. Things are the same. Staying sane therefore remains a challenge,” Munene says to explain what prompted him to advance his studies.
Munene hit the headlines in 2011 after he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to the gallows by Justice Mohamed Warsame.
President Kenyatta, however, commuted the death sentence to life in prison in 2016.
His case drew the attention of the media due to the players involved.
DEATH IN A FEW MINUTES
Munene, an inspector of police then at the Capitol Hill police post in Kilimani, Nairobi, was involved in an altercation with a reveler that ended in the latter’s death within minutes.
The deceased, Dr James Ng’ang’a Muiruri, then 30, was the son of former Gatundu North MP Patrick Muiruri.
“If I could do things differently, I would. But I can’t take back time.”
Munene has a degree in economics from the University of Nairobi and another in law that he earned online from the University of London while still incarcerated.
He takes pride in his publications, which he wrote behind bars and that are now used in tertiary institutions as teaching guides.
His research was based on prison enterprises that he was able to operate while in prison.
Though his appeal was rejected in 2012, Munene hopes the Supreme Court will be his big break.
“I’ve been doing a lot of reading and I’m a lot wiser now. I’m more passionate about issues of justice now,” he says, full of hope.
“Prisoners survive by hope.”
Studying is not the only thing that has been keeping him busy. He spends his free time mentoring young men not to fall back into crime once they are released from prison.
“We are all in a prison of our own kind. No matter the situation, time offers all of us a chance to do something positive. And that’s what I’m trying to do with my life.”
The going might be tough behind prison walls, but Munene is not about to be bound by them. Even as he prepares to go to the Supreme Court to lodge his appeal, he is also hoping for a presidential pardon this year.
He hopes to pursue a PhD soon and has already made an application for the same.
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