State v Thomas Owuor Oluoch [2022] KEHC 2417 (KLR)

REPUBLIC OF KENYA

IN THE HIGH COURT OF KENYA AT SIAYA

CRIMINAL CASE NO. E008 OF 2020 [MURDER]

STATE................................................................................PROSECUTION

VERSUS

THOMAS OWUOR OLUOCH.................................................ACCUSED

SENTENCE

1. On 17/1/2022, this court delivered judgment wherein it found the accused person herein Thomas Owuor Oluoch guilty of the Information / Charge of Murder of the deceased Charles Oloo Ayenga.

2. The court then reserved the sentence to be meted after mitigation and Presentence report.

3. I have considered the mitigation by the accused and the presentence report filed by the Probation Officer.  It says that the accused is not a first offender as he was convicted and sentenced to serve two years imprisonment for the offence of assault. The accused admitted this fact upon being asked by the court.

4. The accused is said to be aged 35 years and married twice with a family. He is said to be a very violent person.  At the time the accused committed the offence herein, his first wife left him in 2016. His second wife lives in Tingare.

5. The accused is said to be a very violent person and that his family and the local community do not want to see him. They still bay for his blood following the incident of murder of the deceased. The accused did not relate well with people in the community.  The home environment is not suitable for his immediate return.

6. The deceased was a family man of four children loved by many.

7. I have also considered the circumstances under which the deceased was unlawfully killed and with malice afterthought.  There was absolutely no justification for the accused herein to butcher the deceased, which injuries turned out to be fatal. Although the accused denied the offence, all the circumstantial evidence adduced pointed to him as the person who unlawfully inflicted the fatal injuries on the deceased. He then made the deceased so scared of his life that he did not want to report his attacker to the police and only demanded for his phone which the accused had taken from him.

8. The deceased was an uncle to the accused.  One wonders why a nephew would attack his uncle so viciously. The answer, from the evidence adduced, is greed for very small things like a mere phone which the accused merely pawned for Shs. 300/=.  That sounds like the story of Jesus who was sacrificed at the altar of 30 pieces of silver.

9. The accused deserves deterrent sentence for the heinous act of taking away an innocent life.  The accused has no respect for lives. Although his counsel submitted that he suffered from stress of his family being apart, and that he is recovering from alcohol addiction, there is no reason why the accused accosted his uncle and cut him so viciously.

10. Punishment for murder is death. However, taking into account all the above circumstances, I hereby sentence the accused person Thomas Owuor Oluoch to serve forty (40) years imprisonment for the Murder of the deceased Charles Oloo Oyenga.

11. Sentence to be calculated from the date of his arrest on 17/11/2020 as the accused has been in custody.

12. Right of Appeal 14 days of today explained.

DATED, SIGNED AND DELIVERED AT SIAYA THIS 15TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2022

R.E. ABURILI

JUDGE