[2023] KEHC 19012 (KLR)
The court held that it had already resentenced the applicant from death to forty years' imprisonment and further reduced the sentence by applying Section 333(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, accounting for time spent in custody. The applicant's current request for further reduction or a non-custodial sentence was...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- [2023] KEHC 19012 (KLR)
- Parties
- Applicant: Charity Munanie Mwithi; Respondent: Republic
- Court
- High Court
- Court Station
- High Court at Kisumu
- Jurisdiction
- Kenya
- Case Number
- Miscellaneous Criminal Application E022 of 2023
- Procedural Posture
- Miscellaneous Criminal Application / Ruling on Application for Resentencing and Sentence Reduction
- Outcome
- application dismissed as abuse of court process
- Judges
- RE Aburili
- Legal Topics
- Resentencing, Abuse of Court Process, Murder Sentencing, Section 333 2 Criminal Procedure Code
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Charity Munanie Mwithi
Applicant
Republic
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Miscellaneous Criminal Application / Ruling on Application for Resentencing and Sentence Reduction
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the applicant is entitled to further resentencing or reduction of sentence after previous resentencing and application of Section 333(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
- 2 Whether the current application constitutes an abuse of court process.
Ratio Decidendi
The court held that it had already resentenced the applicant from death to forty years' imprisonment and further reduced the sentence by applying Section 333(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, accounting for time spent in custody. The applicant's current request for further reduction or a non-custodial sentence was found to be an abuse of court process, as the court no longer had jurisdiction to grant further relief in respect of the same conviction and sentence. The court emphasized that the applicant had already benefited from the Supreme Court's Muruatetu decision and the statutory provisions, and no further judicial intervention was warranted.
Court Disposition
application dismissed as abuse of court process
Orders
- The application for sentence reduction is dismissed.
- This file is closed.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
25 paragraphs
Mwithi v Republic (Miscellaneous Criminal Application E022 of 2023) [2023] KEHC 19012 (KLR) (19 June 2023) (Ruling)
Neutral citation: [2023] KEHC 19012 (KLR)
Republic of Kenya
In the High Court at Kisumu
Miscellaneous Criminal Application E022 of 2023
RE Aburili, J
June 19, 2023
Between
Charity Munanie Mwithi
Applicant
and
Republic
Respondent
(HCCR Petition No 36 of 2019 Petition 36 of 2019 )
Ruling
1. The Applicant is Charity Munaine Mwithi. She was convicted and sentenced to death in two counts of the murder of her 4 and 7 years old children vide Kisumu HCCRC No 26 of 2005.
2. The Convict vide HCCR Petition No 36 of 2019 petitioned this court for resentencing and on January 30, 2020, she was resentenced to serve forty (40) years imprisonment to run from the date of conviction on November 5, 2010.
3. Later vide HCCR Misc Application E005 of 2022, she applied that Section 333(2) of theCriminal Procedure Code be considered and this court (High Court 2) allowed her application and ordered that the 40 years’ imprisonment do run from date of arraignment on April 26, 2005.
4. Vide this application filed on May 31, 2023, she seeks for resentencing and reduction of sentence to a less severe and non-custodial.
5. I find this convict to be abusing this court’s process and wasting judicial time. This court has no more jurisdiction left to exercise in her favour for the murder of 2 innocent children. She escaped from the hangman’s noose courtesy of the Muruatetu decision by the Supreme Court.
6. For now, she must serve the sentence imposed which was further reduced by application of Section 333(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, taking into account the period that she spent in custody upon arraignment in court.
7. The application for sentence reduction is found to be an abuse of court process and devoid of any merit. It is hereby dismissed.
8. This file is closed.
9. I so order.
DATED, SIGNED AND DELIVERED AT KISUMU THIS 19TH DAY OF JUNE, 2023R. E. ABURILIJUDGE