Supreme Court upholds Ruth Kamande’s life sentence for murder
She was convicted after stabbing Farid Halim 25 times, leading to his death.
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the life sentence of Ruth Kamande, the former Miss Lang'ata Women's Prison, who was convicted of murdering her boyfriend, Farid Mohammed Halim, in 2015.
Kamande had appealed the sentence, hoping to have her conviction overturned or reduced, but the Court dismissed her appeal, meaning she will continue to serve her life sentence.
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She was convicted after stabbing Farid Halim 25 times, leading to his death. In her appeal, she sought to introduce "battered woman syndrome" as a defense, arguing that the case raised significant public issues.
However, the Supreme Court ruled that this defense was never mentioned in her original trial or appeal at the High Court, even though it has been a recognized legal concept in many legal systems since the 1970s.
“It is not lost on this Court that at no point in her defence did the applicant raise the defence of battered woman syndrome, either implicitly or explicitly,” the judgment stated.
Ruth Kamande was crowned Miss Langata Women's Prison in 2016. (Photo: Handout)
The court further explained that Kamande had only introduced the battered woman syndrome defense during her application for certification before the Court of Appeal, raising doubts about whether it had been appropriately considered at earlier stages of the case.
In addition, the justices pointed out that Kamande's testimony described her relationship with Halim as a normal romantic relationship, with no substantial evidence of abuse or mistreatment that could support her claim of being a battered woman.
Kamande's legal team took their appeal to the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeal confirmed her life sentence in 2020.
Today's ruling by the Supreme Court seemingly sealed Kamande’s fate, who is currently locked up in the confines of the Kamiti Maximum Prison, serving a life sentence.
She was crowned Miss Langata Women's Prison in 2016. Last year, while serving her sentence, she graduated with a Bachelor of Laws Degree.
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