The Court of Appeal in Eldoret has spared a Baringo man the death penalty after ruling that his crime, while fatal, lacked malice aforethought due to drunkenness and chaotic circumstances.
Stephen Chebon Komen, who was convicted in 2016 of murdering Emmanuel Tarus at a drinking den in Marigat Kilimani village, has had his sentence reduced to 30 years in prison.
He had initially been sentenced to death by the High Court.
The case revolved around a tragic love triangle, alcohol-fueled rage, and a night that ended in bloodshed and unanswered questions.
On the night of November 4, 2007, Komen joined his neighbours at Chepkonde’s bar to drink local brew.
Among them were Kennedy Temunge and the deceased, Emmanuel Tarus. Tensions were high.
Temunge testified that Komen had been having an affair with his wife and had even impregnated her.
He claimed that when Komen arrived at the bar, he suddenly stabbed him on the left hip twice before turning the knife on Tarus, stabbing him in the stomach.
“He stabbed me on the left hip twice… he then stabbed the deceased on the stomach… he then ran away,” Temunge told the trial court.
Both men were rushed to hospital. Tarus was later transferred to Nakuru General Hospital, where he died two days later from complications arising from the stab wound.
A post-mortem revealed severe internal injuries and infection due to leakage of intestinal contents into the abdomen.
Komen, who surrendered himself at Marigat Police Station the following day, initially admitted to stabbing someone but later changed his story.
In court, he claimed that he had been targeted by Temunge for sleeping with his wife.
“He said I had a love affair with his wife. He said ‘hatutakula Christmas nawe’. Tarus was there. I knew I was in danger when he said ‘leo ni leo’,” he said.
“Temunge removed a knife, and I went behind Tarus. He stabbed Tarus,” Komen testified.
He insisted he had no knife and that the stabbing of Tarus was accidental.
But the prosecution countered his claim with damning testimony.
A police officer, Corporal Kennedy Kinyua, testified that Komen led police to a bush where a blood-stained kitchen knife was recovered.
While the knife was never analysed forensically, the judges said this did not weaken the overall case.
The nurse who treated the deceased at Marigat Hospital, Dinah Kendagor, recalled that Tarus was alert when he arrived and had told her he was stabbed by “his friend” while they were drinking.
Despite Komen’s claims, the Court of Appeal found that multiple pieces of evidence pointed squarely to him as the assailant.
“Why would Temunge stab himself twice on the hip?” Justices John Mativo, Mwaniki Gachoka and Weldon Korir asked in their ruling.
“Temunge had no motive to stab Tarus. They were friends. If anything, he would have been more interested in stabbing Komen for having an affair with his wife.”
Still, the judges questioned whether the original charge of murder was appropriate.
They noted that both Komen and Temunge had been heavily intoxicated.
The respondent, representing the state, admitted that the trial judge had not considered this intoxication when assessing whether Komen had the intention to kill.
Under the law, voluntary intoxication cannot be used as a defence. But it can affect how intent is interpreted.
“Although the appellant (Komen) may have been drunk on chang’aa and busaa, it was self-induced intoxication. It would not afford a defence,” the judgment read.
But the court was persuaded that the murder conviction should be reviewed.
“The sentence of death is hereby substituted with a determinate sentence of thirty years imprisonment,” the judgment stated.
Komen, now a widower and father of two, had spent seven years behind bars awaiting the conclusion of his appeal.
His lawyer told the court that he had reformed while in prison and was the sole provider for his children.
The Court emphasised that it had weighed both the tragedy of Tarus’s death and Komen’s personal circumstances.
“He was remorseful,” the judges noted. “He was a first offender… the circumstances leading up to the deceased’s death justify interfering with the sentence.”
The sentence will be calculated from the date of Komen’s arrest in November 2007.
“We hereby substitute the sentence of death with a determinate sentence of thirty years imprisonment. The sentence shall be computed from the date he was arrested,” the judges ruled.
