[2022] KEHC 2004 (KLR)
The court found that the accused was convicted of murder under circumstances that were unprovoked and unnecessary, resulting in the needless loss of life. The probation report depicted the accused as violent and a menace to society, with a history of drug and alcohol abuse, and even violence towards his own parents....
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- [2022] KEHC 2004 (KLR)
- Parties
- Respondent: Republic; Defendant: Oscar Makwa Machanja
- Court
- High Court
- Court Station
- High Court at Kakamega
- Jurisdiction
- Kenya
- Case Number
- Criminal Case 37 of 2012
- Procedural Posture
- Criminal Case / Sentencing Ruling
- Outcome
- accused sentenced to thirty years imprisonment
- Judges
- DN Musyoka
- Legal Topics
- Murder, Sentencing, Mitigation, Pre Sentence Reports
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Republic
Respondent
Oscar Makwa Machanja
Defendant
Procedural Posture
Criminal Case / Sentencing Ruling
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the accused should receive a custodial sentence for the offence of murder.
- 2 What mitigating and aggravating factors should influence the length and nature of the sentence.
Ratio Decidendi
The court found that the accused was convicted of murder under circumstances that were unprovoked and unnecessary, resulting in the needless loss of life. The probation report depicted the accused as violent and a menace to society, with a history of drug and alcohol abuse, and even violence towards his own parents. Despite mitigation submissions regarding his remorse and family responsibilities, the court determined that these did not outweigh the gravity of the offence and the need to protect society. The court concluded that a custodial sentence was warranted both as punishment and as a means of rehabilitation, and sentenced the accused to thirty years in jail.
Court Disposition
accused sentenced to thirty years imprisonment
Orders
- The accused person is sentenced to serve thirty years in jail.
- There is a right of appeal to the Court of Appeal against both conviction and sentence.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
18 paragraphs
REPUBLIC OF KENYA
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KENYA
AT KAKAMEGA
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 37 OF 2012
REPUBLIC.................................PROSECUTOR
VERSUS
OSCAR MAKWA MACHANJA.......ACCUSED
RULING ON SENTENCE
1. The accused person herein was convicted on 10th December 2021 of murder. I called for a pre-sentence report, before sentence. One has been filed, dated 8th February 2022. The report is generally not favourable on the accused. It depicts him as a violent person, even to his own parents, and an abuser of drugs and alcohol. He is said to be remorseful though, although still denying having committed the offence. A custodial sentence was recommended.
2. Mitigation was done on 9th September 2021, through his Advocate, Mr, Munyendo. He expressed remorse, and pleaded for leniency. He was said to care for his son after his wife left him, and also for his elderly parents, although the probation report indicates that he is violent towards the same parents. Mr. Mwangi for eth prosecution, emphasised that the accused was a convict for the offence of murder, and that the victim was a member of a family that had been deprived of a person that they depended on. He prayed for a custodial sentence, to serve as a lesson to others.
3. I have considered the circumstances under which the deceased died, the report by the probation office, as well as the statements on mitigation by Mr. Munyendo and Mr. Mwangi. Indeed, a family lost a member in the hands of the accused person. The death was totally needless, and unprovoked, and it would appear it was perpetrated in the furtherance of general crime. I am persuaded that a custodial sentence is merited in this case, which should serve to remove the accused from society, where he is a menace, to a place where he can be rehabilitated.
4. Consequently, the accused person herein is sentenced to serve thirty years in jail. There is a right of appeal, to the Court of Appeal, against both the conviction and sentence. It is so ordered.
DELIVERED, DATED AND SIGNED IN OPEN COURT AT KAKAMEGA THIS 25TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2022
W MUSYOKA
JUDGE
Mr. Erick Zalo, Court Assistant.
Mr. Mwangi, instructed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, for the State.
Mr. Munyendo, Advocate, for accused.