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 submissions filed before the Supreme Court, the prosecution argued that the evidence presented during the trial was sufficient to support Sagaray’s conviction and that there was no reason to overturn the decisions of the lower courts.
Sagaray filed his petition on August 7, 2026, challenging a Court of Appeal judgment delivered on March 7, 2025, which upheld his conviction and sentence.
Overview of the appeal case
The case is now before the Supreme Court under Petition No. E030 of 2026, where the DPP has opposed his appeal and asked the court to maintain the existing judgment.
One of the key issues raised in the appeal is whether Kenyan courts had the authority to prosecute Sagaray despite his former diplomatic position.
Sagaray argues that the courts lacked jurisdiction to try him because Venezuela did not expressly waive his diplomatic immunity. He maintains that his diplomatic status should have prevented his prosecution.
However, the prosecution has argued that communication from Venezuelan authorities terminating his diplomatic mission and cancelling his diplomatic passport brought his diplomatic functions to an end.
The DPP further submitted that any immunity that may have remained did not shield Sagaray from prosecution for acts committed outside his official diplomatic functions.
Key arguments from the prosecution
The prosecution also defended the evidence used to convict him, arguing that the decision was not based solely on motive, personal relationships or an alleged benefit from the murder.
Instead, it maintained that the trial court and the Court of Appeal properly considered the combined weight of circumstantial evidence presented in the case.
Among the issues highlighted by the prosecution were a dispute over control of the Venezuelan Embassy, Sagaray’s relationship with Mohammed Ahmed Mohammed Hassan, and events surrounding Fonseca’s murder.
The DPP argued that circumstantial evidence can be sufficient to support a conviction when the facts, considered together, establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt and rule out reasonable alternative explanations.
Sagaray's counterarguments
Sagaray, however, disputes this position, arguing that his conviction was based on motive, perceived benefit and his association with Mohammed Ahmed Mohammed Hassan rather than sufficient evidence directly linking him to the killing.
The Supreme Court Deputy Registrar has directed that the petition be placed before the Deputy Chief Justice for the empanelment of a bench and further directions.
