The widow of slain marathoner
Samson Kandie, who is charged with his murder, is now considering entering a
plea bargain with the state after two of her co-accused did the same, leaving
her as the only one facing a full trial.
Prosecutor Sidi Kirenge told High Court Judge Reuben Nyakundi that Rose Chepkemboi was exploring the plea bargain option after her co-accused — Jamlick Murgit and Vincent Kiprono — successfully reached agreements with the state.
The judge allowed the ODPP to withdraw murder charges against Murgit and Kiprono after they pleaded guilty to lesser offences and agreed to testify against Chepkemboi, the first accused in the murder case.
“Your honour, the first accused has indicated that she may also opt for a plea bargain in this matter,” Kirenge said.
However, Chepkemboi’s lawyer, Elijah Momanyi, objected immediately, telling the court that he was unaware of his client’s discussions with the state.
He warned that he would withdraw from the case if his client continued acting behind his back.
Justice Nyakundi dismissed the threat, noting that any misunderstanding between Momanyi and his client was a private matter.
“Mr Momanyi, the court cannot be involved in a private agreement between you and your client. I was not there when you agreed to represent her. Just find time and talk to her,” he said.
Kiprono pleaded guilty to manslaughter and confessed that he had been hired by Chepkemboi to “discipline” her husband over alleged extramarital affairs. The mission, however, turned fatal after Kandie suffered severe injuries.
Kirenge then outlined the facts of the case, stating that a female friend introduced Kiprono —a shoe dealer — to Chepkemboi.
Kiprono and others proceeded to the athlete’s home in Elgon View Estate, where they violently assaulted him and left him for dead. Forensic analysis placed Kiprono at the scene and showed that he communicated with Chepkemboi 22 times on October 3 last year between 1 pm and 9 pm.
“The facts are true as read out, your honour,” Kiprono said.
The judge ordered a pre-sentencing report and directed parties to file final submissions ahead of Kiprono’s sentencing on December 15.
Two weeks earlier, the second accused, Jamlick Murgit, had been sentenced to six years in jail after pleading guilty to conspiracy to murder. His plea bargain also required him to become a state witness against Chepkemboi.
Kandie and Chepkemboi were parents of four children. Their daughter, Vienna Kandie, previously testified that their home had long been troubled by frequent fights and accusations of infidelity.
She told the court that her mother repeatedly accused her father of having an affair, claims he consistently denied. Vienna said they even asked her mother to provide proof, but she never did.
On October 1 last year, after a fierce quarrel, Kandie left home, telling Vienna he was going “to look for peace he could not find at home.”
The next day, Vienna was working at her shop, one kilometre away. When it got late, she called her mother so they could walk home together — because her father disliked her returning late.
Chepkemboi arrived at around 7.40 pm. They walked home, during which Chepkemboi repeatedly urged Vienna to call her father, but he did not answer. When they reached home, they found his car in the compound but the house in darkness.
Vienna rushed inside and switched on the lights, but her father wasn’t there. When she called him again, someone else picked up.
“The man who picked the call told me to look for my father in the toilet and asked why Kandie had been messing around with his wife,” Vienna testified.
Alarmed, she ran to the outside toilet, where she found her father with his hands tied, a swollen head, and bleeding from the eyes, writhing in pain.
