In the quiet dawn of January 12, 2013, as residents of Lurambi Village in Kakamega County went about their early routines, a series of chilling events unfolded that would end in the brutal death of a young woman and a conviction that would shake a community.
Twelve years later, on May 9, 2025, the Court of Appeal at Kisumu affirmed the conviction of Kevin Shaman Andole for the murder of Anne Adhiambo Nambala, his neighbour and wife of matatu conductor Fredrick Omondi.
The court, however, set aside the death sentence handed down by the High Court and substituted it with a 30-year prison term.
But the ruling, though significant, was only the final chapter in a harrowing case marked by disturbing eyewitness accounts and forensic evidence pointing to a violent and senseless act
A normal morning turns tragic
Omondi, the deceased’s husband, told the court that on the morning of the incident, everything appeared normal.
He left his home at 6 am, after taking tea prepared by his wife, who had left for work at a café in Kakamega town.
“At about 10 am, I received a call informing me that my wife was dead,” he said in testimony recorded during the trial.
When he arrived at the scene, he found her lifeless body on a mattress in Andole’s house.
The shock of her death was matched by the horror of where it had occurred.
First witness accounts: A cry in the dark
The court heard from a neighbor, who had been attending a night prayer meeting (kesha) when she encountered Andole on the road at around 5:30am. He was not alone.
There was a lady lying on the ground with foam coming from her mouth. She knew the deceased – Anne Adhiambo.
Curious and concerned, she approached to help. But instead of gratitude or an explanation, she was met with hostility.
“Andole threatened me and asked why I was checking on her. He said she was just drunk,” she recounted.
Then, chillingly, she watched as he lifted the unconscious woman and carried her across a fence into his home.
The beating witnessed
Another neighbour said that he had heard persistent cries coming from the road, about 70 metres away from his house.
“When I got there, I saw Andole kicking the woman on the ribs. She was foaming from the mouth,” he stated.
The neigbour followed Andole as he carried Adhiambo into his house. He quickly alerted the area assistant chief.
Upon his arrival, the assistant chief found the house locked, with angry members of the public outside, threatening to lynch the suspect.
Police break in
When police arrived, they found a grim scene inside the house.
An officer testified that he ordered the suspect to open the door, which had been locked from inside.
“When we entered, we found Andole with a towel wrapped around his waist. The deceased was lying on the bed, covered with a blanket,” he said.
Another officer supported this account: “Her body was on the bed, partly covered with a white t-shirt and blanket. Foam was still visible at the mouth.”
The medical evidence
On January 14, 2013, two days after the incident, a doctor performed a postmortem examination at the Kakamega Provincial General Hospital.
He observed bluish fingers, indicating breathing difficulty before death.
The body had bruises on the knees, injuries on the left hand and a laceration on the left side of the scalp. Most damning was the blood clot under the scalp.
“The cause of death was raised intracranial pressure due to blunt force trauma following assault,” the doctor told the court.
The injuries were consistent with a beating.
The defence: A flat denial
Andole took the stand in his own defence, offering a different version of events. He claimed he had been at work at a video shop and was arrested at 7 am, with no knowledge of any murder.
But he offered no witnesses to support his alibi. An alibi is evidence that one was elsewhere when a criminal act is alleged to have taken place.
The judges noted that his defence was an afterthought and dismissed it as untruthful.
The court’s verdict
At the High Court, the judge had found Andole guilty and sentenced him to death.
The ruling was based on the testimonies of eyewitnesses and the medical report linking the injuries to blunt force trauma.
The Court of Appeal, comprising Justices Asike-Makhandia, Luka Kimaru, and Aggrey Muchelule, agreed with the High Court’s findings on guilt but reviewed the sentence.
The appellate judges affirmed that the evidence against Andole was "compelling and overwhelming."
“He was properly convicted on compelling and overwhelming evidence,” the judges said.
They also noted that, “The appellant (Andole) was a first offender. He was a young man and regretted the offence. He was remorseful,” they noted.
However, they also observed that “the circumstances of the case were quite grave. The chilling murder of the deceased was senseless and unnecessary.”
Accordingly, they substituted the death sentence with 30 years’ imprisonment, effective from the date of his arrest.
