Naftali Kinuthia Sentenced to 40 Years in Jail for Murder of Ivy Wangechi

A court has sentenced Naftali Kinuthia to 40 years in jail for the murder of medical student Ivy Wangechi in Eldoret four years ago.

While sentencing the accused on Thursday, Justice Stephen Githinji said the offense was brutal as he noted that pleadings by the defense and victim’s lawyers were taken into consideration.

Kinuthia’s lawyer Mathenge Wokabi had pleaded for a non-custodial sentence so as to give his client a second chance in life.

“Your honour we plead for a non-custodial sentence to give the accused a second chance in life so that he can re-integrate with his family and society and make out of his educational skills,” Wokabi argued in mitigation.

Read: Naftali Kinuthia to be Sentenced for Ivy Wangechi’s Murder on November 22

“Although Kinuthia may not have expressed remorse at an early stage, he did so during his defense.”

Last month, Justice Githinji found that the prosecution had proved its case against the IT expert beyond reasonable doubt.

The judge trashed Kinuthia’s defense in which he claimed he was provoked after Ivy ended their relationship and went for another man.

The judge noted that although Kinuthia had claimed that they had an intimate relationship there was no evidence of the same.

“Even text messages reviewed did not prove evidence of an intimate relationship and the the accused did not also prove a sexual relationship with the deceased,” said Githinji.

He said the accused used a lethal weapon- an axe- to hit the deceased several times leaving her with no chance of survival.

“If he did not want to kill her he would have used bare feasts on her and not the axe.”

The judge said claims of provocation by Kinuthia were not true.

Read Also: Naftali Kinuthia Demanded Sh200,000 Allegedly Spent on Late Ivy – Witness

Githinji noted that although the accused had claimed that the axe he used had been in his car for security reasons that was not the case.

He noted that the axe appeared new and sharpened which proved aforethought malice on the side of the accused in ending Ivy’s life.

The judge noted that the axe had a metal handle, was new and sharpened using a grinder.

“I saw the axe in court and is kind used in rural areas to split firewood and trees. It’s not like the one reasonable people carry for security,” said Githinji.

The judge also noted that the accused also had a knife with him which he claimed to have been given by someone at the scene of the crime.

“It’s laughable when the accused alleges the knife was handed to him by a member of the public. Who would have wanted to lose his life for no purpose. His allegation is not true,” said the judge.