NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 22 – The High Court in Garsen has sentenced a 44-year-old man to 25 years in prison for fatally stabbing his neighbor after wrongly accusing him of having an affair with his wife, in a case the prosecutor described as a brutal act of jealousy-driven violence.
Justice Jesse Nyaga convicted Salim Hukicho of murder contrary to Sections 203 and 204 of the Penal Code after finding that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The court heard that on the evening of September 4, 2022, in Tarasaa Township, Hukicho ambushed his neighbor, Hassan Rona, at his home and stabbed him in the abdomen without provocation.
“The attack was so vicious that the victim’s intestines protruded from the wound, causing the deceased to die on the spot,” ODPP said.
Members of the public responded by escorting the accused to Tarasaa Police Station before the victim was taken to Malindi Sub-County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Medical evidence presented during the trial confirmed that Rona died from injuries sustained during the stabbing.
Principal Prosecution Counsel Agather Mkongo urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, arguing that the attack was exceptionally violent and underscored the need to protect the public from similar offenders.
Investigations established that Hukicho attacked the deceased because he believed he was involved in a romantic relationship with his wife.
However, evidence presented before the court showed that the woman was the deceased’s former girlfriend, not his current partner, undermining the accused’s motive for the killing.
In his judgment, Justice Nyaga held that the prosecution had established every element of the offence through credible witness testimony, medical evidence and the circumstances surrounding the attack.
The court subsequently sentenced Hukicho to 25 years’ imprisonment.
The convict was granted 14 days to appeal against both the conviction and sentence.
