NAIROBI, Kenya, June 17 — The High Court has declined a bid by convicted robber Jackson Kihara to overturn or reduce his 20-year jail term, ruling that the application had no legal merit.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Alexander Muteti, the court said the matters raised by Kihara had already been addressed by the Court of Appeal and could not be reconsidered by the High Court through the current application.
The judge further found that the trial court had properly complied with sentencing requirements, including accounting for the time Kihara spent in custody before conviction.
“The sentence complied with the provisions of Section 333(2), and the trial court properly considered the period spent in custody,” Justice Muteti ruled.
Kihara, who is serving his sentence at Manyani Maximum Prison after being convicted of robbery with violence, had asked the court to review both his conviction and sentence, insisting he had been falsely implicated in the case.
He argued that the four years he spent in remand custody were not sufficiently considered during sentencing and maintained that the 20-year term imposed on him was excessive.
The inmate also pleaded for leniency, telling the court that he had reformed during his imprisonment and had undertaken teacher training while behind bars.
Kihara additionally claimed that he is a son of the late former Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua and alleged that his prosecution was linked to disputes over documents connected to his father’s estate.
He told the court that he had been intimidated and framed over the matter.
However, Justice Muteti ruled that the High Court could not revisit factual issues already settled by the appellate court unless there were valid grounds for ordering a retrial.
The judge added that some of the complaints raised by Kihara fell outside the jurisdiction of the High Court in the application before it.
