Apology to victim’s father gets convict lesser sentence
A 32-year-old housewife found guilty of murder by an Eldoret court was yesterday handed a lesser sentence after apologizing to her father-in-law over a domestic feud that resulted in the brutal killing of her estranged husband five years ago.
Abigael Yego (pictured) is said to have stabbed Livingstone Kamau to death in cold blood using a kitchen knife following a scuffle in their house in an incident that occurred on the night of June 17, 2019 at Moi’s Bridge Township, Uasin Gishu County.
In his judgment that took less than 10 minutes, Eldoret High Court Judge Reuben Nyakundi ruled that the prosecution had proven beyond reasonable doubt that Yego killed her husband, hence deserved a sentence that was in tandem with charge as per the law.
Yego stabbed her husband to death after that she allegedly snatched from the deceased the knife which the slain man had attacked herewith in their matrimonial home on the fateful night.
During her mitigation, Yego told the court that it was not her intention to attack her late husband but she was only defending herself and that out of anger she turned the knife against him leading to his painful death during the ensuing confrontation.
After five years of prosecution of the case Justice Nyakundi found the accused guilty of the murder ontrary to section 203 read with section 204 of penal code.
Before delivering the sentence, the accused was put on her defence and during which she told the ourt that she was remorseful for her action that led to the death of her husband. According to court documents before the incident, the couple had lived together for more than five years.
The marriage was marred with domestic quarrels where the accused alleged that the deceased used to assault her on various occasions.
The court was told that the death resulted from an argument between the couple.
“I am extremely remorseful for the commotion between the two of us that led to the death of my husband whom I stabbed to death as I was defending myself. To express my remorsefulness, I have even approached the family of the deceased where a request for forgiveness and my apology was accepted by father to the deceased,” Yego told the court when put on her defence.
The court acknowledged receiving a letter from the deceased’s father, Josphat Mwangi, who accepted Yego’s apology over the tragic incident. Mwangi, an electrician by professional who was given opportunity by the court to share his sentiments over the same confirmed to the court that the accused together with her family had apologized and as a father he had forgiven her noting that no sentence will bring back his son and as a Christian he was obligated to forgive and leave the final judgement to God.