- Upon determination of the matter, the court noted that Wanjiru was only trying to save her life and had no option but to all means to preserve her life.
- It pointed out that the deceased could have harassed or even killed her.
Image: FILE
On the night of July 7, 2022, Anne Wanjiru Tangira waited for her husband to come back home without knowing tragedy was also awaiting.
Wanjiru was at home in Iriani village of Nyandarua West, when her husband Peter Lukhumbali alias Stephen Sande arrived drunk. This was at 9:30pm.
After getting into the house, the husband and wife talked before proceeding to the kitchen where the latter would serve dinner.
While eating, Lukhumbali suddenly kicked the sufuria and when his worried wife questioned his action, he stood, slapped and insulted her.
A fight broke out between the two and Wanjiru would find herself squeezed to the ground.
She screamed for help but nobody came to her rescue. She continued struggling to get out of her husband's hold.
Soon, she managed to free herself but while running out of the kitchen, he got hold of her clothing and pulled her back.
Thinking of defending herself, she reached out for a knife and stabbed Lukhumbali once in the stomach then ran out.
She would not know the extent of the injuries until the next day at 8am, when the man was found dead.
A postmortem showed that the cause of the death was massive loss of blood following a stab wound.
Wanjiru was arrested and charged with the offence before Nyandarua High Court. She pleaded not guilty and the matter went into a plea bargain.
Subsequently, the defence and prosecution arrived at a plea bargain agreement which was executed by all parties.
On March 19, the charge of murder was substituted with that of manslaughter which Wanjiru pleaded guilty to and a plea of guilty was entered.
The prosecution told the court that she was a first offender as she had no previous record.
In mitigation, the defence said the widow was trying to rescue herself from an aggressor, who started a fight without provocation despite the good reception of his wife with food.
The court heard that she had a child and had been in custody for over one and a half years.
It was also informed that she was repentant and remorseful and regretted the act.
The defence sought a non-custodial sentence which was opposed by the prosecution who proposed for a custodial sentence of at least three years imprisonment.
Upon determination of the matter, the court noted that Wanjiru was only trying to save her life and had no option but to all means to preserve her life.
It pointed out that the deceased could have harassed her or even killed her.
"The statement tendered by the prosecution almost exonerated the accused from any criminal responsibility in the circumstances. The court allows self-defence even to the extent of justifying killing," Justice Charles Kariuki stated.
Taking into account the time Wanjiru had been in custody, the Judge found it to be enough and released her.
"The court makes the order that the accused sentence is for the period she has been in custody. She will thus be released forthwith unless otherwise lawfully held," the ruling dated March 20, reads.