'I killed my Egerton University girlfriend out of anger'

A 28-year-old man has confessed to killing his university student lover four years ago, saying he did it out of anger.

Mr Edmond Ruto, who pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter in a plea bargain agreement, claimed he was overwhelmed with fury when he brutally hacked to death his 21-year-old girlfriend Cynthia Chelang’at on February 19, 2018.

Ms Chelang’at was a third-year agriculture student at Egerton University, while Mr Ruto was in his fourth year studying economics and statistics at the same school.

When he appeared in court on February 21, 2018, Mr Ruto denied the charge of murder and was released on bond.

But he later reached a plea bargain deal with prosecutors and confessed to killing the woman by stabbing her in the neck and stomach before attempting to take his own life.

In his mitigation before Nakuru Presiding Judge Joel Ngugi, he said he regretted his actions, adding that the death had brought great pain to his and Ms Chelang’at’s family.

“It pains me to imagine that I am the cause of her death. I regret … allowing my anger [to] get the best of me and I am sorry to the family,” said Mr Ruto.

Pleading for a lenient non-custodial sentence, Mr Ruto claimed he was a new man and had undergone anger management training, and psychiatric and mental health treatment during his time in remand at the Nakuru GK Prison.

He produced a certificate to prove the training, saying he was ready to use the skills to help other students avoid similar situations.

The court also heard that Mr Ruto’s family had approached Ms Chelang’at’s family and held positive talks on a cleansing ceremony before the latter could to forgive him.

Mr Ruto’s family said the ceremony would involve taking a cow to her family.

He said he had six siblings and parents who depended on him, because he was the only child who excelled in education.

But Mr Bernhard Kipkoech Ngetich, the lawyer for Chelang’at’s family, said they wanted a tough punishment for Mr Ruto and they did not want him freed.

Mr Ngetich reminded the court about the brutality of the murder, saying Mr Ruto had shown no remorse until he entered plea bargaining talks in 2022.

He urged a minimum of 20 years in prison as suggested by prosecutors so that Mr Ruto’s case could serve as a lesson for couples in relationships who use their spouses as punching bags.

“The world must know that men and women are not instruments in relationships, but are human beings with dignity which has to be upheld and respected,” Mr Ngetich said.

Mr Ruto allegedly stabbed Ms Chelang’at six times in the neck before turning the knife on himself at their off-campus Njokerio hostel.

Mr Ngetich explained that Ms Chelang’at was a single child to a traumatised mother who sells pineapples for a living and she cries every day.

The court will rule on September 29.

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