The State on Tuesday called for the death sentence for a Murang'a-based high school principal who orchestrated the murder of her husband who was the Kiiru School Principal.
Icaciri Girls High School Principal, Jane Muthoni and an accomplice, Isaac Ng’ang’a alias Gikuyu were found guilty of killing Solomon Mbuthi Mwangi between November 6 and 11, 2016 after several months of planning.
State Counsel Catherine Mwaniki and Mbuthi’s family lawyer, Mathenge Wokabi urged Justice Joel Ngugi to consider employing the maximum sentence for the matter considering the circumstances of the murder.
The two observed that the two offenders showed no remorse or regret throughout the trial that has lasted five years.
“Although the Supreme Court has found death penalty unconstitutional, some courts have been using it because it is still enshrined in the statutes,” said Mwaniki.
She told the court that the offenders planned the murder for months and executed it with precision and cruelty.
“The offence had been hatched on numerous occasions, a clear indication that the two were determined to kill Mbuthi,” she said.
Mbuthi’s body was found at Karakuta Coffee Estate in Juja Sub-County in Kiambu after he went missing five days earlier.
Mwaniki urged the court to be persuaded by the evidence and the manner in which the offence was executed.
Mathenge said Muthoni should have used her profession to model and instill virtues among her students but she chose to use her knowledge to kill.
“The manner in which Mbuthi was subdued to be defenceless through poisoning and brutally murdered clearly shows the two are ruthless,” he said.
Mathenge said a stringent sentence should be meted against the duo to serve as a lesson especially in the current times when cases of murders within families are on the rise.
He observed that Muthoni had never reached out to Mbuthi’s family at least to explain her situation since the murder occurred.
In mitigation, Muthoni and Ng’ang’a urged the court to be lenient with them because their families needed their presence.
Muthoni said her three children required parental love claiming that they had suffered immensely during her incarceration for the past five years.
Ng’ang’a told the court that his wife left their children with his elderly parents soon after he was arrested.
He urged the court to set him free to be united with his children.
In a twist of events, Muthoni’s daughter, June Mbuthi also pleaded with the High Court to unconditionally release the mother.
She said the family was suffering having already lost their father whom she described as loving and a friend to her and her siblings.
Sentencing which had been set for Tuesday was further deferred to June 3.
