The prosecution secured a 40-year prison sentence against a former Administration Police Officer following his conviction for the murder of Dancun Cheruiyot at Maralal town in Samburu County.
In a matter prosecuted by Prosecution Counsels Esther Kimani, Jackson Motende and Maina Kimaru, the High Court in Nanyuki found constable Patrick Marwa guilty of the offence of murder contrary to Section 203 as read together with Section 204 of the Penal Code and sentenced him to serve 40 years’ imprisonment.
The court heard that on May 4, 2019, at about 5.30 p.m., Marwa, who was attached to Administration Police Line Two in Maralal, reported to the armoury where he was issued with a G3 rifle together with 20 rounds of ammunition before proceeding for night duty.
Evidence presented before the court established that Marwa and the deceased, Dancun Cheruiyot, were waiting at the main gate for transport to their duty station when the deceased, who was in charge of discipline at the camp, instructed the accused to surrender his firearm after informing him that he would not proceed on duty at the China construction site.
The prosecution proved that an argument ensued between the two officers following the directive. In the course of the confrontation, Marwa cocked his rifle and shot Cheruiyot ten times, killing him instantly.
The court further heard that Marwa later handed over the firearm to a fellow officer, who returned it to the armoury, before he was arrested and escorted to Maralal Police Station, where the incident was formally reported.
Police officers who visited the scene recovered ten spent cartridges of 7.62 mm calibre ammunition and the G3 rifle that had been issued to the accused.
The body of the deceased was moved to Samburu County Referral Hospital mortuary, where a post-mortem examination confirmed that he had sustained ten gunshot wounds.
In reaching its determination, the court found that the prosecution had proved the charge of murder beyond reasonable doubt.
Justice A.K Ndungu observed that the evidence adduced, including witness testimonies, the scene visit and the post-mortem report, established that the accused acted with malice aforethought in unlawfully causing the death of the deceased.
Consequently, the court convicted Patrick Marwa of murder and sentenced him to forty years’ imprisonment.
Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal at Kisumu has upheld a life sentence for a man who defiled his 8-year-old stepdaughter on 31st January 2020, within Mbita Sub-county in Homa Bay County.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Asike, Mwita, and Ongaya, the bench ruled that the minimum and mandatory sentences under the Sexual Offences Act are not unconstitutional and the trial courts have no discretion to impose any other sentences other than the statutory sentences in the Sexual Offences Act unless Parliament amends the law or the Supreme Court of Kenya pronounces itself otherwise.
“With the foregoing in mind, it is pretty obvious that the appellant’s complaint on this score is devoid of merit,” ruled the bench.
The appellant had lodged his second and perhaps last appeal raising grounds that the High Court erred in law in upholding his conviction despite having been denied legal representation in terms of Article 50(2)(g)(h) of the constitution of Kenya; the actual age and penetration of the complainant were not established.
Other grounds that the appellant lodged were that the evidence tendered in the trial court was marred with contradictions and inconsistencies, vital and crucial witnesses were not summoned to testify, failing to believe the defence which was truthful and cogent and failing to consider that the legal provision for a mandatory life sentence under section 8(2) of the Sexual Offences Act denies the judicial officer legitimate jurisdiction to exercise discretion in sentencing.
The bench ruled that it was common ground, and both the trial and first appellate courts found that the complainant was 8-years-old at the time of the incident, relying on her testimony, her mother, and a copy of the birth certificate tendered as evidence.
The court was satisfied just like the two courts that the age of the complainant was properly proved.
“We find no error that penetration was proved beyond reasonable doubt, and on the identity of the perpetrator, it is common ground that the appellant was a stepfather to the complainant, so he was a person well known to the appellant as they resided in the same house,” ruled the bench.
The court ruled that Section 8(2) of the Sexual Offences Act prescribes life imprisonment for the defilement of a child aged 11 years or below, found no merit in the appeal, and dismissed it in its entirety.
The complainant was left alone with the appellant, who was a stepfather, when her biological mother went for a funeral.
The appellant took advantage of the situation, dragged the complainant into a store within the house, and defiled her.
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