A man found guilty of murdering his fiancée got relief after the Court of Appeal in Kisumu reduced his life sentence to 25 years.
A three-judge bench upheld the conviction of Enock Akoko but instead sentenced him to 25 years as from 2015, the year he was convicted.
Akoko was found guilty of murdering Janet Awuor, a Maasai Mara University student on the night of September 19, 2014 at Highway Complex Lodge in Migori county.
Akoko's age — 35 — and the mitigation showing he had been remorseful for the five years he has spent in custody were considered in the ruling.
“Accordingly, whereas we dismiss the appeal on conviction, we nonetheless allow the appeal on sentence. In lieu of the sentence, the appellant shall serve imprisonment term of 25 years,” Justice Patrick Kiage ruled.
Through his lawyer, Akoko argued his earlier conviction and life sentence were wrong as the court relied on the evidence of a single witness.
On September 20, 2014, the deceased, 19 years, travelled to Migori town in the company of her boyfriend and spent the night with him at the Highway Complex Lodge.
Her dead body was found in the hotel’s room on the morning of September 22, 2014 by the hotel’s manager who was on duty.
On close observation of the body, she noticed a stab wound on the neck and traces of blood around the nose and the mouth.
She headed toward the room after noticing flies and a foul smell emanating from one of the rooms drew her attention. She called the receptionist.
The receptionist revealed that a man, who had only identified himself as Otieno O. had booked the room on September 19, 2014. When asked for his identity card, he told her that he had forgotten it but he gave her an ID number
Items found in the room included a leather bag, syringes, empty alcohol bottles and other personal belongings of the deceased.
Police officers were notified of the dead body and afterwards traced the accused person and arrested him.
An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was severe bleeding in the chest cavity caused by a penetrating lung injury.
In his defence, Akoko said that although he knew where the lodge was, he did not sleep there at any time.
His father, however, testified that a day before the incident, Akoko had brought a woman at home, had supper and thereafter left, saying they were going to spend the night in town.
“He (Akoko) admitted he knew the deceased as his fiancée. He recalled that the last time he was with her was in August 2014, when her father caused them to be arrested when he found them in his house,” court documents read.
Edited by E.Kibii