Kiambu High court has placed a 17-year-old girl to 6 months’ probation after she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter, following a fight in which her husband succumbed to injuries.
Justice Joel Ngugi while delivering the judgment said he found it wise to give the minor who has a daughter slightly aged more than one-year-old a non-custodial sentence at the Siaya Hostel so that she could heal and forget the traumatizing incident.
The minor had committed the offense when she was barely 16 years, a fact that the court took into consideration that she was too young to discern the correct decision before she found herself in the quagmire of involvement while defending herself from a habitually violent husband.
Justice Ngugi reckoned in his Judgement that the accused had clearly gone through trauma and according to the probation report by Kepha On’gera, she may have anger management issues which she should be assisted to deal with through the court.
“It is also important that she goes through counselling and probably a good idea to remove her from the social milieu that produced her circumstances,” said Justice Ngugi.
“While there, she will also learn about life skills and vocational training,” the Judge said.
“Just get out of Kiandutu for a while so that you have time to go over what happened. Go and even be a local tourist while on probation,” Ngugi added.
The girl was first arraigned on 30th January 2017, charged with the offence of murder contrary to section 203 as read together with 204 of the penal code. Clutching an infant in her arms, she was accused of killing Hassan Wanyoike Njeri on January 22, 2017 in Kiandutu slums, Thika Sub-county of Kiambu County.