[2022] KEHC 13661 (KLR)

Parties

Procedural Posture

Criminal Case / Judgment

Legal Issues

1. 1 Whether the accused caused the death of the deceased by an unlawful act.
2. 2 Whether the accused possessed the requisite malice aforethought (mens rea) for the offence of murder.
3. 3 Whether the accused was mentally fit at the time of the offence and understood the consequences of her actions.

Ratio Decidendi

The court found that while the accused, Malia Musee, was proven beyond reasonable doubt to have caused the death of the deceased by assaulting him with a walking stick, the evidence established that she was suffering from a mental illness at the time of the offence. Psychiatric reports and witness observations indicated that she was unaware of the consequences of her actions and did not possess the requisite malice aforethought. The absence of mens rea, due to her mental incapacity, meant that the charge of murder could not be sustained. Consequently, the accused was acquitted of murder and ordered to be released, subject to psychiatric certification of her fitness and safety to return to...

Court Disposition

acquittal

Orders

• The accused is acquitted of the charge of murder.
• The accused shall be released only upon certification by a psychiatrist that she has sufficiently healed and poses no danger to her family or society.