Lodwar man jailed 26 years for killing lover over HIV medication use

It is 26 26-year jail term for a Lodwar man who bludgeoned his girlfriend to death over the use of HIV drugs.

Ewoi Edan from Lokitela village in Narewa, Lodwar, was convicted on October 24 by the High Court for killing his girlfriend Christine Ekatorot. The incident happened on the night of December 16, 2022.

The postmortem report said that the woman’s body had cuts around the skull, a depressed skull fracture, an open skull fracture extending across the skull, blood (clotted) on the mouth, nostrils and ears, cloths soaked with clotted blood and the body covered with clotted blood.

Her head also had scalp haemorrhage and depressed skull fracture in the left and right temporal regions. There was also an open compound skull fracture with haemorrhage.

As a result of the examination, the pathologist formed the opinion that the cause of death was severe head injury with skull fracture and haemorrhage.

According to witness testimonies, bad signs started when Ekatorot and the accused were together at the home of her cousin, Gladys Ekwacho. 

Ekwacho testified that the accused asked his girlfriend to stand and leave the house with him. But she hesitated and was pushed outside. The next day, the cousin received news of Ekatorot’s death.  

A mason who had been finishing work that evening said he witnessed a fight between the couple between about 5 pm and 6 pm. He overheard that the argument was about Ekatorot’s use of HIV medication, which the accused opposed.

The following morning he discovered Ekatorot’s body in his compound.

The accused later gave a sworn defence, saying that on the day of the incident, he had been working, then visited two drinking establishments where he was involved in a separate fight and sustained injuries.

He claimed he did not know of Ekatorot’s killing.

After reviewing the conflicting stories and the physical evidence, the judge ruled that the prosecution had shown that the death was caused by the accused, who acted with intent or knew his actions would likely kill her.

No evidence supported the accused’s version of events or hinted at provocation or self-defence.  

In deciding how long the accused should be locked away, the court said that though he had never been convicted before and had spent time in remand, the killing was brutal, the weapon used was deadly, and the victim was a young woman.

Through the testimony of family members, neighbours and police and the detailed postmortem report, the court painted a stark picture of a relationship torn apart by stigma around HIV and a life ended in violence.