On June 4, 2022, four men attended a preliminary MCA election exercise at Sarif Town centre in Habaswein subcounty, Wajir.
Ignoring the popular Kenyan saying "usiweke siasa kwa roho", their opinions varied leading to a clash and a fight which ended in murder.
In a fit of rage, Iftin Hassan Mohamed and Elmi Abdullahi stabbed Abdirahman Adan Hassan and Jamal Dekow Abdi to death.
The two young men were arrested and arraigned at Garissa High Court where they were charged with two counts of murder.
They pleaded not guilty to the charges and the court listed the matter for hearing.
However before the hearing could begin, the parties agreed to enter into a plea bargaining agreement which was signed on November 21, 2023.
On January 31, 2024, Mohamed and Abdullahi pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
They were convicted on their own plea and a pre-sentence report was filed recommending a three-year probation period.
In the report, the probation officer told the court that the families of the victims and accused persons were neighbours.
It was further heard that the latter had given the victims' families 100 camels each, as compensation for Adan and Dekow's death.
Delivering his ruling after consideration of the facts of the case and mitigation, Justice John Onyiego noted that the offence committed was a serious one and carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
He also noted that the court had discretion in sentencing.
Guided by the discretion, he took note of the ages of the accused persons where Mohamed is 23 years old, a year older than Abdullahi.
The Judge stated that although the families had reconciled, how the stabbing was planned and executed was cruel and found a custodial sentence necessary.
"To give the young men a chance to reform, a shorter sentence in custody shall suffice to also serve as a lesson to the society," he stated in the ruling dated February 15.
Upon taking into account the period the men had spent in remand custody and considering the reconciliation, he sentenced them to serve two years each for the two counts of murder.
"A sentence of two years' imprisonment for each accused for each count to run concurrently shall suffice," Justice Onyiego ruled.
They have a right of appeal of 14 days.
