Man who killed mother over fence feud loses appeal

A man who killed his mother after she questioned him about missing timber has lost his appeal against conviction and the death sentence.

Dishon Macharia Nyawira was convicted of killing Selipha Nyawira Macharia at Kangemi village in Nyeri County following a dispute on the night of July 19, 2008. 

The Court of Appeal in Nyeri heard that the deceased returned home and noticed timber was missing from the fence separating her house from the room where her son lived.

Seeking an explanation, Selipha walked over to her son's quarters to question him about the missing materials.

Moments later, the appellant's sister, Gladys Njeri Nyawira, who was in the kitchen, heard her mother scream out in Kikuyu, "He has killed me".

"She rushed to the appellant’s room where she found their mother lying on the floor, groaning in pain. Gladys started screaming while trying to pull their mother away,” court documents show. 

“The appellant, who was armed with a panga, ordered her to stop screaming. When she did not, he cut her on the head and body and she started bleeding. She crawled from the room and hid in another room.”

Neighbours responded, took Gladys and the mother to the Karatina District Hospital and restrained the appellant at the scene while recovering the murder weapon.

Medical reports indicate Selipha suffered a compound fracture to her left forearm alongside multiple skull fractures and three fingers on her left hand were amputated during the onslaught.

Gladys recovered, but the mother succumbed to her injuries. 

The postmortem report showed the cause of death was cardiac arrest due to severe head injury and multiple skull fractures.

During the trial, neighbours testified regarding the aftermath of the attack and how the appellant was apprehended. 

Maina Mwangi Muriuki testified that upon hearing screams from the home, he rushed toward the scene.

On his way, he intercepted the appellant, who was carrying a bag containing the panga. Muriuki said the appellant handed over the murder weapon to him peacefully.

Another neighbour, Gilbert Mwaniki, rushed to the home after hearing a commotion. He found people already holding the appellant outside the gate and neighbours beating the appellant.

He prevailed upon them to stop and the appellant was then taken to the police station.

A police officer corroborated these events, testifying that he met a group of about 15 citizens who had arrested the appellant, tied with ropes and were beating him. The officers then took him into custody.

In his defence, the appellant had told the trial court he was in Kinamba, Laikipia, on the day of the attack and had been called with news that his mother was injured by falling iron sheets. He alleged that his sister and all prosecution witnesses had lied, suggesting she wanted to inherit their mother’s property alone.

But in his appeal, Dishon abandoned his initial alibi about being in Laikipia and instead acknowledged that he had committed the assault, arguing that the circumstances stripped him of his self-control.

The prosecution opposed the application, maintaining that the trial court had properly evaluated the case and that the defence could not withstand the overwhelming evidence presented by eye witnesses and neighbours.

In their judgment, the appellate bench, comprising Justices Sankale ole Kantai, Mumbi Ngugi and Abida Ali-Aroni, upheld both the conviction and the death sentence initially handed down by the High Court.

The judges rejected the provocation argument, describing it as an attempt to excuse matricide and that asking about missing fence timber could not justify such a savage and fatal reaction against a parent.

"We find his argument that he was provoked to be a desperate clutching at straws. While provocation is a partial defence recognised under section 207 of the Penal Code, which, if successfully invoked, can reduce what would otherwise be murder to manslaughter, there is no evidence to support or even suggest that it could be available to the appellant," the judges stated. 

The death sentence imposed in March 2019 remains in force.