Man who killed wife for not tilling land jailed for 35 years

A 50-year old man has been sentenced to 35 years in prison after he was found guilty of killing his wife following a domestic squabbles.

Riziki Karisa Yeri stabbed his wife Kadzo Charo Chenje several times after she failed to attend to the farm as he had instructed.
The offence was committed on December 3, 2016 in Kilifi County.

On the fateful day, Mr Yeri assigned the woman a section of the farm to cultivate as he tapped wine in a neighbouring parcel.

TURNED PHYSICAL

Witnesses’ statements say the woman never went to the farm as instructed, triggering a conflict that turned physical.

The deceased’s daughter Ms Raeli Karisa told the court that her father engaged the wife in verbal exchange before he picked a kitchen knife and stabbed her on the chest and stomach.

"Mr Yeri directed the knife towards the deceased’s heart and stomach area. I screamed and my siblings came running to rescue my mother," she said.

According to her testimony, the accused attempted to put his wife on a chair after she fell down from the stabs but she was lifeless.

Ms Karisa said her father tried to turn the knife on himself, in a suicide attempt, after the incident.

The deceased’s other child Ms Riziki Pili said she was woken up by screams from their parents’ house and on arrival, found her father assaulting her mother.

CUT HIS BODY

"I saw the accused stab the deceased on the stomach and legs. When he was done with inflicting physical harm on her, he started cutting his body," she said.

The witnesses said their mother succumbed to the injuries while they were still organising to take her to hospital.

"The accused suffered self-inflicted injuries; we picked him and tool him to hospital while his wife’s body was taken to the mortuary. She had died by the time the police arrived at their homestead," said the investigating police officer.

When arraigned in court, Mr Yeri denied the murder charges. He surprised the court when he said he did not know the circumstances that led to his wife’s death.

Malindi High Court Judge Reuben Nyakundi who heard the case noted that evidence indicated the accused, in the vicinity of the incident, was not confronted with an attack from the deceased to be compelled by the necessity of self-defense and apply violent force retaliation.

PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDER

The judge further said the accused, at the time he unlawfully acted, was not suffering from a psychological or neuropschological disorder, which reduced his discernment or impended his ability to control his actions.

Further, the judge noted that the act of self-inflicting injuries was to demonstrate that he assaulted the deceased in self-defence.

"On evaluation of the evidence, the prosecution did discharge the burden of proof that the accused attacked the deceased by use of excessive force. There was no iota of evidence that this was done to protect himself from imminent danger to life, limb or freedom which could not otherwise be averted," said the judge.

Mr Yeri's choice to remain silent when asked critical questions and to put up a strong defence, the court noted, was clearly a case of rage of a husband against his own wife.

SELF CONTROL 

Also, the court noted that the accused did not show that he was adequately provoked.

Mr Yeri's acts of disturbance and attack, the court said, was planned and based on revenge or punishment inconsistent with the loss of self control, since he left for wine tapping and came back almost immediately, then picked a quarrel with the deceased, an indication of malice.

"I therefore, enter a verdict of guilty and conviction for the offence as charged. The aggravating circumstances in this case by far outweigh the mitigating circumstances. The accused is hereby sentenced to 35 years imprisonment with effect from December 29, 2016," the court.

In mitigation, Mr Yeri only stated that he was a family man and asked for leniency.