Two men receive extenuation after being found guilty of murder. [Photo|KBC]
A Kiambu court on Monday sentenced two men to 15 years after they were tried and found guilty of murder.
According to the charge sheet- John Ng'ang'a Gacheru and his accomplice Joseph Kamau Wanyoike were accused of having broken section 203 and 204 of the penal code that protects the universal right to life.
According to their charge sheet, the two first appeared in court on November 28, 2015, in Kigumo location of Murang’a county where they murdered John Ngatha in cold blood.
In his ruling, a high court judge justice Joel Ngugi said the accused were under the influence of alcohol when they committed the murder.
“It is a relevant factor to consider in sentencing since it lowered the degree of blame for the offence committed by the accused”, the high court judge said.
The prosecution side steered by council Henry Kinyanjui pleaded with justice Ngugi to give a death sentence but the judge object since the murderers were first-time offenders.
“The offence was a well-orchestrated murder and there was nothing in the circumstances that would allow the court to be lenient on them,” said Kinyanjui.
Up until 14 of December 2017, a conviction for murder would be the death sentence in Kenya. This was revised in the wake of the murder case that involved Francis Kiarioko Muruatetu against the republic where a petition ruled out that the death sentence should be done away with.
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