Former Miss Lang’ata Prison has been sentenced to death after being found guilty of murder.
Justice Jesse Lessit found Ruth Wanjiku Kamande guilty of murdering her then boyfriend Farid Mohammed in Bururburu, Nairobi in September 2015 by stabbing him 25 times.
According to the judge, the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt adding that Kamande was malicious in committing the offence.
Justice Lessit said she was convinced that the accused was not remorseful at all during trial.
“Considering that the offence was a gender based violence, I want this sentence to pass as a stern warning.
I want young people to know it’s not “cool” to kill their partners, rather they should walk away from the relationship and forgive,” ruled the Judge.
Justice Lesiit added that if she was to issue any other sentence than the one prescribe for murder offences, the accused person would consider herself as a hero.
“I therefore see no other sentence for this matter than the one prescribe by law, l sentence the accused person to death,” ruled Lessit.
In her mitigation, the convict pleaded with the court to hand her a lenient sentence saying that she had established a close relationship with God while in remand and even converted to a devoted Muslim.
The 24 year old who has been in Langata women’s remand since 2015, had told the court that things escalated after she discovered a hospital card which suggested that Mohammed was undergoing HIV treatment.
Kamande further said that she stabbed her late boyfriend severally with a kitchen knife after it fell on her chest as they were struggling on the bed.
The convict who had just been enrolled at JKUAT to study a bachelors degree in Business Information Technology before the incident, further defended herself by saying that when she confronted the deceased about his status, he threatened her with a knife and said they would both rather die than have his HIV status known to the public.
However, the court had earlier heard that the accused had previously engaged the deceased in an argument after after finding love messages from another girl on his phone.
“Having taken into account all mitigation factors by the defence , l have found that the convict was jealous and went to an extent of swapping sim cards on her late boyfriend phone to access his messages and emails,” Lessit added.
The Judge further noted that it was clear from the evidence that the accused was stabbing the deceased once at time and declined plea by the neighbours who responded to the commotion.
“Stabs were not at ago, they were done in intervals. This is clear from the prosecution’s evidence,” Lesiit said.
On the fateful day the convict had refused to open the door making the police to force their way to the house where they found Mohammed in a pool of blood.
After the passing of the sentence the family of the deceased was grateful that justice had been served for their lost kin.
