A man who spent 11 years in remand awaiting his fate after brutally murdering two children has been spared from death row and will now serve 35 years in prison.
Cleophas Keino committed the crime
in 2008 and remained in remand until 2019 when the High Court in Nakuru
convicted him of the murders and sentenced him to death.
Keino had attacked the home of
his lover, Monicah Mutai, armed with a sharp panga.
He emerged from a nearby maize
plantation and viciously slashed one of the children, a seven-year-old boy.
The mother, holding the
younger child, fled in terror. According to seven witnesses, including Mutai,
Keino then turned to the toddler on the ground, stepped on his neck, and
butchered him.
The court proceedings revealed
that Mutai was Keino's secret lover and that she had previously fought with his
wife, a possible motive for his rage. Keino was arrested, charged, and
ultimately convicted of the two murders.
Keino appealed the conviction
and sentence, presenting several grounds that were rejected by the court.
The appellate court noted that
Keino, unprovoked, attacked the children with a panga, inflicting fatal
injuries.
They stated, "The
appellant’s goal, which he ultimately achieved, was to end the lives of the
children. He knew or ought to have known that cutting a child with a panga
would result in death or grievous harm."
The court dismissed the appeal
against the conviction, affirming the trial court's conclusion that the
evidence was sufficient to convict Keino.
However, the death sentence
was quashed.
The court ruled, "The appeal against conviction is dismissed for lack of merit. The appeal against sentence partially succeeds, and the death sentence is set aside and substituted with imprisonment for 35 years on each of the two counts. The sentences shall run concurrently.”
.png)
0 Comments