When he appeared in the dock, he was worried and confused not knowing whether the magistrate would rule on his favour.
But after Kibera chief magistrate Joyce Gandani said his appeal was successful, Ibrahim Makokha smiled and thanked the court for its decision.
Makokha was convicted ten years ago to life in prison when he was only 20 years old and newly-married with one child.
This was after the court found him guilty of colluding with criminals to attack his boss (his uncle) and stealing his leather jackets, 'Kabambe' mobile phone and some electronics, all worth Sh33,000.
He had already served 10 years when he decided to appeal the sentence on the grounds that he was young when he committed the offence and never knew that it was a major offence.
He was a security guard at his uncle premises, when thugs approached him with guns and promised to give him at Sh100,000. He gave in to the demands because he was broke.
Ibrahim said had also learned a lot in prison from carpentry, to theology and completed a HIV course.
Since his conviction, he joined a primary and completed KCPE in 2014 and scored 162 marks out of the total 500. He also wanted to preach the gospel to his family and the entire nation and told court that he had apologised to the complainant, Kenyans and the court at large.
He stole the said items, in the company of three other criminals, from David Makokha after hitting him with a gun on his head and threatening to kill him if he did not cooperate.
The prosecution had urged court to give him more years to serve in jail before his release.
Kibera chief magistrate Joyce Gandani said the accused had proved to the court that he had transformed to be a good man.
“Having considered your mitigation, I agree with the prosecution that since you were a key player in the crime scene, and you have proved to court that you have at least got some carpentry skills, theology and skills in a HIV course, you will serve 12 years in prison instead of a life sentence,” said Gandani.
She said that the offence was critical and required him to serve at least some years.
Ibrahim thanked the court for the ruling and vowed not to repeat the mistake.
