A man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing his neighbour with a metal rod after a romantic dispute in Gatundu, Kiambu county.
Justice Abigael Mshila delivered the custodial sentence on Friday following a plea bargain agreement that reduced Alexander Karau Kimani’s initial murder charge to manslaughter.
The judge ruled that Kimani must serve time behind bars to reflect on his actions and undergo counselling. The time spent in remand since his arrest on April 15, 2024 will be factored in the decade-long sentence.
The fatal confrontation occurred on the morning of August 18, 2022 at Kiriko village within Gatundu South subcounty.
Kimani and his neighbour, 24-year-old John Murunyu Njuguna, were embroiled in a bitter quarrel over Faith Wangari Mburu, who was the estranged wife of the accused.
The court heard that Kimani and Faith had separated and he heavily blamed Njuguna for creating their marital differences and causing the eventual breakup.
On the fateful morning, the animosity boiled over when Njuguna, armed with a machete, attempted to assault Kimani.
Kimani fled the scene and hid inside a granary while Njuguna pursued him. Moments later, Kimani emerged from his hiding place armed with a metal rod.
He struck Njuguna across the head, causing him to collapse and die instantly on the spot from blunt force trauma.
Prosecuting counsel argued for a custodial sentence, telling the court that “the law expects all people to exercise restraint”.
While acknowledging that the deceased was armed, the state insisted that Kimani used a degree of force that was entirely unreasonable under the circumstances.
“The sanctity of life must be valued,” he submitted, adding that a non-custodial sentence would be inappropriate given that a deadly weapon was aimed at a vulnerable part of the body.
Defending the accused, defence counsel submitted a written mitigation statement detailing Kimani's profound remorse.
The defence highlighted that Kimani was a first-time offender with no prior criminal record who had acted out of panic.
The counsel stated that he had indeed “over-reacted in trying to defend himself but the attack was not premeditated," noting that Njuguna had previously threatened Kimani with violence at his workplace using a machete.
The defence argued that by pleading guilty, Kimani had conserved valuable judicial resources and spared the family further trauma.
Justice Mshila considered a victim impact assessment, which revealed deep emotional pain suffered by Njuguna’s family and thatthe two families remain close neighbours.
They described their son as young and hardworking and said they had not come to terms with his death, though they had forgiven Kimani and left the matter to the court’s wisdom.
Justice Mshila noted that Kimani was convicted on his own plea of guilty for manslaughter contrary to Section 202 as read with Section 205 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
“Due to the aggravating factors in which an unreasonable force and a deadly weapon was used and the force was aimed at the most vulnerable part of the human anatomy in which another innocent life was lost, this court is satisfied the accused is best suited to serve a custodial sentence to enable him reflect on the offence committed and attend counselling for anger management; the appropriate sentence is found to be that of 10 years," the judge said.
