Republic v Samson Mulatya Mwendwa

He told his wife to prepare some water for him so that he could take a bath as soon as the wife took the water to the bathroom, she heard the deceased crying as if she was being choked. 6. The wife ran back to the house and found the accused slaughtering the child. The accused turned to his wife and tried to stab her but she fled for her dear life while screaming. The members of the public went to her rescue and wanted to arrest him. The accused retreated back to the house and took the body of the deceased. The accused dumped the body in a pit latrine and fled to unknown place police officers from Mutomo DCI office went to the scene and retrieved the body from the pit latrine. The body was escorted to Mutomo Level 4 Hospital where a postmortem was conducted on 2/4/2025. The doctor formed the opinion that the cause of death was due to Cardio Pulmonary Arrest secondary to severe Hemorrhage secondary to deep cut on the neck. 7. The accused later surrendered himself to Mutomo Police Station on 25/3/2025. He was arrested and placed in Police Custody. He was charged with murder which was reduced to manslaughter through plea bargain. The postmortem form was signed by Doctor Anyega was produced as exhibit 1. The accused admitted charge and was convicted. The matter is for sentencing Mitigation 8. The accused in his mitigation thro’ his learned counsel Miss Kiama pleaded with the court to consider that he is a young man aged twenty-six (26) years. That the accused was not in his right mind at the time he committed the offence. He is a first offender. That the court to consider the sentence that ensures his rehabilitations. That he has made amends with the victim’s mother and urges the court to forgive him. Social Inquiry Report 9. A report was filed by the probation officer. The report states that the accused could not explain why he committed the offence. He states that he was not himself when he committed the offence. He regrets his actions and prays for leniency. He understands the magnitude of the offence and the consequences as well as possible court sanctions. The accused is aged twenty-six years. Analysis and Sentence 10. The accused is a 1st offender. He is aged twenty-six (26) years. He is a first offender. Sentencing is a matter that is in the discretion of the trial Judge or Magistrate. The Principles underpinning the sentencing process under the Judiciary Sentencing Policy guidelines are: Proportionality, Equality, uniformity, party, consistency and impartiality. Others are accountability, transparency and inclusiveness. The respect for Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms are also to be considered. 11. In this case the victim was a nine (9) month old child who lost her young life at the hands of her dear father who she innocently believed would protect her and not harm her. This was not to be. The mother of the victim has never under stood why her child had to die, she says she has never come to terms with the incident and still suffers nightmares over the incident. This court is called upon to do justice. 12. I find that the court has to consider the principle of proportionality based on the facts that the accused has accepted his mistake and is aware of the dire consequences while the victim’s family demand justice. The principle entails a basic principle in sentencing, that a sentence of imprisonment should never exceed that which can be justified as appropriate or proportionate to the gravity of the offence in the right of its objective circumstances. 13. The objectives of sentencing are: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/kehc/2025/19565/eng@2025-12-16 2

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1. Retribution; To punish the offender for his criminal conduct. 2. Deterrence; To deter the offender from committing a similar offence subsequently as well as to discourage other people from committing similar offences. 3. Rehabilitation; To enable the offender to reform from his criminal disposition and became a law-abiding person. 4. Restorative Justice; To address the needs arising from the criminal conduct such as loss and damage. 5. Community Protection; To protect the community by incapacitating the offender. 6. Denunciation; To communicate the community’s condemnation of the criminal conduct. The accused pleaded guilty and saved the court’s time. 14. I have considered the above policy guidelines and objectives. The victim herein was a minor, this court has a duty to do justice for her. This court is at a loss as to why she had to die at such an early age. The accused pleaded guilty and this court has to treat him with leniency. It is my finding that whatever may have led him to commit this crime, he requires rehabilitation so that he can get guidance on how to overcome such imagined or real attacks by unknown spirits. 15. It is my view that he can only achieve that by serving a term in prison. A custodial sentence is called for. I sentence the accused to serve 10 (ten) years imprisonment. The sentence to run from 8/4/2025 to take into account the time spent in custody as provide under Section 333(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code. DATED, SIGNED AND DELIVERED AT KITUI THIS 16TH DAY OF DECEMBER 2025 HON. LADY JUSTICE L. GITARI JUDGE https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/kehc/2025/19565/eng@2025-12-16 3

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