Why man convicted of killing friend in Garissa will only serve two years in jail

The high court in Garissa has handed a two-year jail term to a man who killed a friend following a dispute inside a hotel, after considering that the families of the deceased and the convict had reconciled and partial compensation made for the life lost.

Justice John Onyiengo handed the sentence to Issack Abdi Muhumed after convicting him of manslaughter.

Issack was convicted on his own plea of guilty, after he admitted the charge of manslaughter before Justice Onyiengo on March 14 this year.

The convict had been charged with murder contrary to Section 203 as read with Section 204 in 2022 but the offence was changed to manslaughter after a plea bargaining.

Plea bargaining is an arrangement between the prosecution and a suspect where the suspect requests for or is offered an opportunity to plead guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for a lenient sentence or have some charges dropped.

The agreement between Issack and the office of the Director of Public Prosecution, which involved both families forgiving each other and some bit of compensation to the victim's family, was entered on December 6, 2023.

Issack agreed to plead guilty to committing a lesser charge of manslaughter contrary to Section 202 as read with Section 205 of the penal code.

The prosecution indicated to the court that Issack did not have a criminal record prior to the incident. In his mitigation, Issack expressed remorse and prayed for leniency.

He had quarrelled with the deceased at a hotel where they were taking tea before he took a panga nearby and cut him before the victim later succumbed to the wound, and the convict was charged with murder.

The convict invited the court to consider the circumstances under which the offence was committed and that he had quarrelled with the deceased before a fight ensued leading to the injuries that resulted in the death of the victim.

Issack also urged the court to consider the fact that both families had forgiven each other after compensating the victim's family.

In his verdict, Justice Onyiengo said he is pretty aware of the objectives of sentencing which are also captured in the judiciary sentencing policy guidelines as retribution, deterrence and rehabilitation of offenders as well as serving restorative justice.

Other objectives of the sentence are community protection, denunciation, reconciliation and reintegration of offenders back into society after the penalties.

"Taking into account circumstances under which the offence herein was committed and the mitigating factors on record, and further, taking into account that the affected families have since forgiven each other, I am of the view that a more lenient sentence is necessary," stated Onyiengo.

"The pre-sentence report painted a picture of (Issack) being a good man who committed the offence out of poor anger management. That the two families have since reconciled and forgiven each other after some form of compensation was made. That the community is receptive to the accused joining them as the offence was not intended."

Onyiengo said that although the maximum penalty for manslaughter is life imprisonment, considering that Issack has been in custody since October 2022 and that the convict made an effort towards reconciliation by the two families, he finds the sentence of two years imprisonment appropriate.

The two-year sentence started on May 8 as it did not capture the period that Issack was in remand custody during the trial. The convict has 14 days to appeal the sentence.