A commercial sex worker was on January 25, 2024 sentenced to nine years in prison for killing her co-worker in Nakuru.
While sentencing Ann Mumbi Mwangi, Nakuru High Court Judge justice Heston Mbogo Nyaga said the state’s suggested sentence was fitting and consistent with similar cases.
“Having considered all the circumstances of the case I hereby sentence the accused to nine (9) years imprisonment. Under Section 333(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, ” said the judge.
The prosecution had recommended a 10-year prison term, pointing out the accused’s awareness of the knife’s potential harm to the deceased.
However defence counsel G Githaiga pleaded with the court for leniency and a non custodial sentence, describing her as a first-time offender and mother of three.
He told the court that the accused had led a challenging life, marked by parental loss, abandonment, and a failed marriage leading to alcohol use.
Githaiga emphasized the accused’s intoxicated state during the offense, explaining it hindered her anger control.
The court denied the accused’s request for a non-custodial sentence, stressing the need for accountability.
“I find a non-custodial sentence as sought by the accused is inappropriate. The accused needs to feel the consequences of the crime she committed. A custodial sentence will rehabilitate her and send a warning to others that it does not pay to take law into one’s hands and that violence does not pay at all.” Justice Nyaga ruled .
The court heard that, on January 28, 2023 around 4 pm the accused went to green grocery to buy a mango.
After selecting a mango she asked for a knife to peel it.
While peeling it, the deceased who happened to have been following her reached the grocery and seemed to be just passing by her.
The accused within a span of a second approached her and stabbed her.
The deceased fell down and started bleeding.
The accused escaped from the scene but later surrendered herself to the police at Rhonda Police Station.
The deceased was rushed to the Provincial General Hospital by good Samaritans where she succumbed to the injuries while undergoing treatment.
Post mortem report revealed that the deceased died as a result of cardiac muscle injury with blood loss due to a single stab wound to the chest.
The pre sentence report stated that the accused and the victim were both commercial sex workers and the offence occurred due to a dispute over turf ownership.
The accused admitted to stabbing the victim with a knife, but claims that the victim started the fight and is therefore not entirely responsible.
The accused was initially charged with the Murder of Lucy Wanjiru Muigai on January 28, 2023 and she pleaded not guilty on February 15, 2023.
Subsequently, on April 20, 2023, the defense proposed a plea bargain, to which the prosecution contented .
The court, after confirming the voluntary nature of the plea bargain, accepted it.
The charges were then revised to Manslaughter and the accused, admitting guilt, was convicted based on her plea.
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