A 30-year-old man was sentenced to death by a Narok Court Thursday after he was found guilty of robbery with violence.
Simon Mututua had appeared before Narok Chief Magistrate Wilbroda Juma charged with robbing 12 sheep, all valued at Sh. 96, 000, property of Michael Kamau at Enkilorit village Narok East Sub County on March 31, 2018.
He was also accused of beating up the complaint before and immediately after stealing the sheep.
The court found Mututua guilty after the prosecution gave strong evidence through the six witnesses who testified in court.
The culprit had earlier told the court that he had reconciled with the complainant and were willing to settle the case outside the court.
However, the magistrate rejected his prayer saying robbery with violence is a capital offense and once before the court is a state case.
In mitigation, Mututua said he has four young children who fully depend on him.
More so, the culprit told the court that his aging mother who also depended on him was sickly and often needing medical attention.
“I had already agreed with the complainant to come and withdraw the case. I plead with this court to give me a reasonable sentence because I am willing to reform,” said Mututua.
But the magistrate while reading the sentence said she considered the mitigation of the accused person but the court considers that robbery with violence is a crime whose penalty is set out in the law.
“The court considers the circumstances prevailing before and at the commission of the offence. The stolen animals were not recovered and there is nothing very exceptional that will push this court reach a decision that will bend the mandatory death sentence provided by law,” said the Magistrate.
There is currently a clamor to abolish death sentence in the country. Some human rights activists have been lobbying against it, saying it’s against human rights. In Kenyan laws, there are only three offenses that carry the death penalty and are referred to as capital offenses. They include; robbery with violence, murder and treason or sedition.
The Power of Mercy Advisory Committee went around the country collecting views of the public over the matter.
During Jamhuri day cerebrations in 2017, President Uhuru Kenyatta exercised his authority on the power of mercy and pardoned over 2,700 death row convicts but thousands of others continue to anguish in prison, unsure of their fate as no death row convict has been executed in the country since 1982.
Some civil societies have been lobbying to have this penalty abolished saying its inhuman and a violation of the right to life.
By Ann Salaton
