A 20-year-old man who hit the head of another to death during a night disco matanga in 2020 is lucky after a court released him in a plea bargain arrangement with the prosecution.
Boniface Nyakundi, alias Kamani, attended the night vigil at a neighbour’s home where there was a funeral.
As the night wore on, some fracas emerged but it got contained quickly and the dance continued.
At around 4am, amid the biting cold of the night, his victim Kennedy Ajuri, 24, sat among others around a bonfire that was lit.
Then Nyakundi suddenly emerged from nowhere and struck his head with a stick.
Ajuri fell on the fire and a melee ensued as the people around him struggled to save his life.
Meanwhile, Nyakundi took to his heels as others pursued him. He disappeared into the darkness.
It was on the night of January 30, 2020, and Nyakundi was 17 years old at the time, while his victim was 24.
A post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased revealed that he died of severe head injury secondary to blunt trauma.
When Nyakundi was later arrested, he entered into a plea-bargaining deal with the prosecution, in which he pleaded guilty to the crime of murder.
The prosecution then downgraded his crime to a lesser charge of manslaughter, which would attract a maximum of life sentence.
High Court judge Wilfrida Okwany on Thursday gave him a three-year non-custodial sentence, meaning he will not be in jail.
The probation report supported the sentence, saying that the man has been in remand prison since the offence occurred and has since learnt a lesson.
Being a first offender, Nyakundi’s lawyer told the court he was remorseful and regrets his actions, and that he was a young man and the sole breadwinner of his family.
“I note that the accused pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter, thereby saving this court the time and resources that would have been spent on a lengthy trial,” the sentence said.
“The accused has also been in custody awaiting his trial and must have learnt a few lessons on the importance of being a law-abiding citizen.
“I note that the offender is a fairly young man aged 17 years. He is reported to be a secondary school leaver.
“I also note that the deceased was an equally young man aged 24 years and married with a very young family. The probation officer’s report reveals that his death has dealt a devastating blow to his family.”
“I have considered the fact that a precious life was lost through what started as a fracas at a funeral vigil. Every life is precious and I am of the view that the accused should have walked away from the violent confrontations.
“It is also clear, from the facts of the case, that the deceased was not an aggressor.
“The probation officer reports that the families of the accused and the deceased have made peace and that the accused’s community are willing to take him back to their midst despite the unfortunate death of the deceased.”
Though he has escaped jail, the judge said the man needs to be watchful during the probation period to be of good conduct, not commit any offence and attend guidance and counselling on anger management to be organised by the Probation Department.
“The accused is warned that if he breaches any of the above conditions, he will be arrested and brought back to this court, and that the court may pass a custodial sentence.”
