On the night of March 18, 2019, Sharon Cherono fought with her husband, Bernard Kirui Kipkemoi, who sent her away from their home in Magutek Village, Bomet County.
She left with her youngest child, leaving behind her three other children Amos Kipngetich, 11, Vincent Kiprotich, 8, and Emmanuel Kiprono, 5 in their father’s custody.
A day later, Kipkemoi followed her to her parents’ home and left the three children there.
That same evening, he returned while drunk demanding to take them back so they could attend school.
Since it was already late, he was asked to return home alone, with the assurance that the children would be brought back the following morning.
True to her word, Ms Cherono sent the children to their father’s house the next day. That would be the last time she saw them alive.
That night, their father turned against them, strangling each of them to death before fleeing.
The horrific crime was discovered the next morning by the children’s grandmother who found their lifeless bodies on the floor, covered in blankets and unresponsive.
Shocked, she raised the alarm drawing neighbors to the scene and on arrival, the area chief found two ropes at the scene and immediately handed them over to the police.
A postmortem examination conducted by Dr Nickson Mutai confirmed that the children died from asphyxia caused by strangulation.
Kipkemoi was later arrested and charged with three counts of murder on April 25, 2019. He pleaded not guilty.
During the trial, the prosecution lined up eight witnesses while the accused gave a sworn defence but called no witnesses.
In his defence, Kipkemoi denied committing the crime claiming that he had left the children at home around 6 pm on the fateful day and traveled to Sigor in search of petrol, only to return the next morning and learn of their deaths.
However, under cross-examination, he admitted that he was the last person seen with the children. He also failed to explain why he had been on the run before his arrest.
Despite the accusations, he maintained that he had no reason to harm his children and showed no remorse, insisting he did not commit the crime.
On November 23, 2023, the court ruled that he had a case to answer and placed him on his defence.
In his judgment dated November 20, 2024, Justice Lagat Korir dismissed the accused’s defence, noting that Kipkemoi failed to produce any witnesses to corroborate his alibi or remove him from the crime scene.
The judge further pointed out that Kipkemoi’s mother placed him at home that night having left him alone with his children after dinner.
“I have found no evidence or possibility that anyone else accessed the accused’s children. From the above, it is my finding that the circumstantial evidence against the accused is overwhelming and cogent.
“It points unerringly to the guilt of the accused and no one else. The circumstantial evidence in totality leaves no doubt that the accused and no other, strangled his children thereby causing their deaths. He snuffed their innocent lives out in the dead of the night and at a place they called home. The multiple deaths were clearly unlawful,” read part of Justice Korir's judgement
The judge decried the rising cases of extreme violence within homes and urged state and non-state actors, including religious organizations and leaders, to unite in addressing such senseless loss of life.
Finding that the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt, Justice Korir convicted Kipkemoi of all three counts of murder.
“In the final analysis, it is my finding that the prosecution proved the three counts of murder against the accused to the required legal standard which is beyond reasonable doubt. The accused person is accordingly convicted of the murder of the three,” he ruled.
On Monday, February 17, 2025, Bomet High Court Judge Julius Kipkosgei sentenced Kipkemoi to 150 years in prison.
Judge Kipkosgei ruled that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt that Kipkemoi was guilty of murder, each murder carried a 50-year sentence, to run consecutively.
Terming the crime “inhuman and shocking,” Justice Kipkosgei, said the sentence was meant to serve as a deterrent to those with intent to commit a similar crime.
“This court cannot overlook such a grievous act. The punishment must reflect the severity of the crime committed,” he ruled.
