Naftali Kinuthia, the Thika-based IT expert who was found guilty of killing Moi University medical student Ivy Wangeci four years ago, has been sentenced to serve a jail term of 40 years.
This is after the High Court in Eldoret found Kinuthia, 33, guilty of murdering the Moi University student after their love relationship turned sour.
The incident happened on the morning of April 9, 2019, when Kinuthia, hacked Wangeci, then a 25-year-old final-year medical student twice on the head using an axe outside Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret, in broad daylight at around 10am.
Jealousy and anger: Why I killed Ivy Wangeci, Naftali Kinuthia tells court
At an earlier court hearing, the Jomo Kenyatta University computer science graduate had confessed to the crime, telling an Eldoret court that he was overwhelmed with jealousy when he saw his then-girlfriend hugging another man before his eyes.
He had confessed before the High Court in Eldoret, to hacking Wangeci using an axe, saying it was due to anger after she rejected him for another man, despite allegedly ‘minting money from him.’
While delivering the ruling virtually from Malindi High Court, Justice Stephen Githinji observed that the accused subjected Wangeci to a painful death, hence he deserved death sentence, which is, however, abolished in Kenya, hence he had been handed the 40-years custodial sentence.
The accused through his lawyer had expressed his remorsefulness as he pleaded with court for non-custodial sentence claiming that the period he has been in remand has helped him to reform and learn how to control his anger.
"My client has expressed his sympathy to the family of the victim and he even attempted to reach out to them for reconciliations though in futile. He is so remorseful and he is pleading with this court for a non-custodial sentence" lawyer Wokabi Mathenge for the accused told the court.
In a strange twist of events, things turned sour between the two after the victim allegedly turned down his advances, prompting him to hack her to death.
“On the fateful morning, I saw my lover hugging another man. I cannot even tell the moment that I decided to pick up the axe from my car that I had packed near the Emergency department of MTRH. I was not myself,” recounted Mr Kinuthia.
In a virtual court session, Justice Reuben Githinji of the Malindi High Court ruled that the prosecution had proved the offense of murder.
Justice Githinji poked holes into Kinuthia's defense, where he claimed he was provoked after his estranged girlfriend ended their love relationship and eloped with another man after he had heavily invested in the relationship.
