STEPHEN MAINA MACHARIA V. REPUBLIC

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

The appellant was convicted on his own plea of guilty of manslaughter contrary to Section 205 of the Penal Code (Cap 63) and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. He has appealed against the sentence only. The deceased was the appellant’s step-son. The deceased’s mother had two sons with two different men before she married the appellant. On the day the offence was committed the appellant asked his wife to carry a panga in the morning as she went to work and he wanted it to be sharpened and fitted with a handle. The wife attended to those requests. The appellant went to a local trading center the same evening and was said to have consumed a lot of alcohol while his wife was still working at Mugoiri Farmers Co-operative Society where she was employed. She worked till past 6 pm. Later the appellant and the wife started walking home and that was when the appellant took the panga from his wife and threatened to beat and kill her. He continued his aggression when they…