Mother of two charged for killing husband over land

By , K24 Digital
On Fri, 21 May, 2021 17:20 | 2 mins read
NTSA employee sentenced for bribery
Court Gavel. PHOTO/Internet

A woman was arraigned at a Nyamira court and pleaded guilty of killing her husband over a disagreement over sale of their land.

Hellen Nyaboke, a mother of two in her 50s appeared before Nyamira High Court Judge Esther Maina on Thursday, May 21 where she was charged for killing her husband James Mecha at their family house in Nyabisima village, Nyamira South sub-county by hitting him using a blunt metal rod.

According to Nyamira Director of Public Prosecutions Desmond Majale who brought the case before the Court, Nyaboke had a quarrel with the husband after they failed to agree over a decision to sell part of their family land which resulted in a physical fight.

"A quarrel ensued between the deceased and accused person over the sale of their land where they lived. It resulted to a fight and the accused picked a blunt metal which she used to hit the deceased severally on the head and legs," Majale told the Court.

After hitting her husband, the court was told that the accused fled with their two children and hid until five months later when she was found by the police at Isinta village in North Mugirango.

It was further recorded in court that after fleeing the scene where the incident took place, it took about seven days before the decomposing body of the deceased was discovered in the house by a brother.

"A brother to the deceased had gone to the home of deceased on a routine visit and upon entering the house, he met the body of the brother with multiple injuries on the head, legs and hands and there was a pool of blood. The brother quickly informed the area chief who later informed police about the incident," the Court heard.

The Court was also informed that the victim died of intracranial haemorrhage which was occasioned by the head injuries.

"The injuries were consistent with the cause of death," a post mortem report that was presented before the Court read in part. Investigations indicated that the accused woman and the deceased husband were constantly in quarrel over the piece of land whose dimension was not mentioned in court.

However, even after pleading guilty to the charges the woman who appeared in court with a two-year-old kid in her arms was forced to withdraw her plea of being guilty after her account contradicted the plea.

The accused woman's account of the events leading to the death partly contradicted the prosecution's account, forcing the Judge to withdraw her plea of being guilty.

"Considering your part of the story, then it means you are not agreeing to the charges of murder, meaning you have entered a plea of not guilty," Justice Maina told her.

The woman told the court that the husband was a habitual drunkard and on the material day, he had come home demanding that she consents to his decision to sell the family land.

"He had an axe in his hand and he beat me severally before I retaliated by hitting him with a blunt metal. He then locked himself in our main house," Nyaboke recounted before the Court.

She continued telling the courtroom that after locking himself in the main house, he again called for help since he was bleeding.

"I took initiative and called his sister over the incident. I tried to resuscitate him but I could not help him," she said before the Judge intercepted her over the plea.

She was released on a ksh500,000 bond, pending hearing of the matter on June 7.