A High Court has convicted Naftali Kinuthia of murder.
Kinuthia has been standing trial since April 2019 when he was arrested over accusations of brutally hacking to death Ivy Wangeci, a Moi University 6th year medical student.
He is said to have murdered Ivy using an axe that he hit her on the head and neck – killing her almost instantly.
After over four years of the hearing, the court has finally found the accused guilty of committing the crime.
In a judgment delivered virtually on Thursday, High Court Judge Stephen Githinji said the prosecution had proven the offence against the accused.
“The offence of murder was proofed by the prosecution and the the accused stands convicted of murder,” Justice Githinji said in part of his over one-hour judgment.
Provocation claim
Further, the court dismissed Kinuthia’s argument that he acted out of provocation.
According to Justice Githinji, there was no proof that the accused and the deceased had an intimate relationship as Kinuthia had told the court.
During the hearing of the case, the accused admitted that what he did was wrong and that he would live to regret it, but pointed out that it was out of provocation.
He said the axe that he used to kill Ivy had been in his car for months – and that it was only for his own safety – an argument the court disagreed with.
“The act was of a person who intended to kill and he executed that process. The provocation claim by the accused fails the test,” the Judge said.
The prosecution had during the hearing presented several witnesses including Ivy Wangei’s college mates who told the court that the relationship between the two was friendship. The two had known each other since childhood.
Following the murder conviction, the Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution asked the court to sentence the accused to death.
Maximum penalty
“The accused has no criminal record but we urge the court to take into consideration that a young life was lost,” said the ODPP advocate Ms Limo.
“We urge the court to hand him a maximum penalty,” she added.
Similar sentiments were shared by Kiroko Ndegwa, the lawyer for the victim’s family.
Ndegwa said the accused deserved the harshest punishment from the court.
“My clients lost their child – a future doctor who would have probably helped the nation. We therefore pray that the accused be condemned to death,” he said.
The court has since set November 22, 2023, as the date for mitigation and sentence.
