KENNEDY OGIRO ONGERE V. REPUBLIC

JUDGMENT

1. The appellant was charged and convicted of the offence of murder contrary to section 203 as read with section 204 of the Penal Code. The particulars of the offence were that on the 21st day of May 2010, at around 10:30 a.m. at Kanyimach Village, South Sakwa Location, Uriri District in Migori County, he murdered Sospeter Anyango Othim. The trial court sentenced him to death, noting that the only penalty provided in law for the offence of murder was the death sentence.

2. The appellant was aggrieved by his conviction and sentence and filed the present appeal. In his Memorandum of Appeal dated 18th October, 2019, he urges this Court to review the sentence and consider the mitigating factors in accordance with the decision of the Supreme Court in Francis Karioko Muruatetu & another v Republic [2017] eKLR (Muruatetu) in which the court declared the mandatory nature of the death sentence in murder cases unconstitutional.

3. At the plenary hearing of the appeal, Learned Counsel for the appel…