High Court quashes 7-year sentence for man over chicken theft, orders retrial

According to court records, between February 21 and 22, 2024, he broke into the house of his mother, Chepserum Loriono and stole two hens.

He was also charged with creating a disturbance after allegedly banging on his mother’s door with a piece of wood and threatening violence.

When arraigned on February 26, 2024, Pkemoi appeared to offer no resistance, pleading guilty to all the charges before a magistrate’s court.

The facts of the case were that on February 21, 2024 his mother was asleep in her house when he entered by breaking the door while shouting and damaging the furniture before threatening his parents that he would beat them up.

The court accepted his plea and sentenced him to seven years in prison for burglary and six months for disturbing the peace. The sentences were to run concurrently.

But early this year, Pkemoi challenged the conviction. In his appeal, he claimed he was confused and unwell during the hearing and that the language used in court wasn’t properly explained to him. He argued that he didn't fully grasp what was happening or the consequences of admitting guilt.

In a judgment delivered in August, the High Court sided with him. The judge found serious procedural flaws in the original trial, especially around language and comprehension.

“This court has no idea whether the court used Kiswahili or English and whether the appellant understood any of them… I find that the trial court violated the appellant’s right to interpretation in a language he understood,” the ruling states.

Additionally, the judge pointed out that both charges arose from the same incident and could have been merged. This, the court ruled, made the charge sheet potentially defective and the conviction unsafe.

“The conviction was not properly founded and must therefore be quashed,” the court concluded.

However, despite quashing the sentence, the judge refused to dismiss the case entirely. Instead, he ordered a retrial, noting that the offences were serious and that sufficient evidence likely existed to support a conviction—if properly tested in court.

“It is only proper that it proceeds to full trial where both parties can be heard,” the judge wrote.

Pkemoi was released from prison and handed over to the Kacheliba police station for fresh charges to be filed. He was scheduled to take a new plea on September 4, 2025, before the principal magistrate. The court has ordered that the matter be given priority.

After spending a year in jail, Pkemoi now awaits his day in court again—this time, with the promise of a fairer process and a full hearing of his side of the story.

Instant analysis

A petty theft spiralled into a seven-year sentence, but the justice system is now offering a second chance. The case raises questions about how guilty pleas are taken and whether the accused truly understands them.