A form three student,19, who killed a 12-year-old boy after calling him by his nickname, will now serve one year of probation after admitting that he did not kill him intentionally.
The accused was charged with murder but after a plea bargaining agreement between him and the government, the murder charge was decreased to manslaughter.
In her ruling, dated July 13, the High Court judge Pauline Nyamweya found that the accused (labeled RMM) did not intend to kill. She also noted that the family of the accused agreed to settle the matter out of court with the deceased’s family according to Kamba customs.
"I consider a non-custodial sentence to be appropriate in the circumstances of this case… his family and the victim's family has reconciled and that both support a non-custodial sentence," the judge ruled.
"I have considered the facts of the case and the circumstances, in which the deceased's death occurred, as well as the mitigation and probation report. It is evident that the accused had no intention of killing the deceased by the act of lifting him off the ground. The act of falling on the ground is what caused the deceased's death and there was, therefore, no malice aforethought," ruled Nyamweya.
The court heard on February 22, 2015, that the victim called RMM by his nickname, which annoyed him and lifted the 12-year boy off the ground and hit his head and fell unconscious when he landed on the ground.
RMM took Sh100 from the deceased and left him on the ground. However, the younger boy followed him demanding his cash back.
The accused slapped him on the head and the boy went back home and collapsed later after a short while.
He was admitted at Machakos Level Five Hospital and later referred to Kenyatta National Hospital where he died on February 27.