Chuka man jailed 15 years for stabbing neighbour to death over radio sale dispute

A man who stabbed his neighbour to death after a row over the sale of a radio has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Peter Muriungi Kirii was initially charged with murder but entered a voluntary plea bargain agreement, reducing his charge to manslaughter. 

The court heard that on July 20, 2024, John Nthiga was at the family farm at Nthu’ngu ya Kithere village within Tharaka North subcounty, when Kirii arrived with three other people, one of whom carried a radio.

Nthiga expressed interest in buying the device, but Kirii insisted he could not have it. An altercation followed, and Kirii produced a knife and stabbed Nthiga in the chest. He died instantly.

Kirii fled and the matter was reported at Marimanti police station. He was arrested a month later. 

“A postmortem was done and the doctor found the cause of the death was a penetrating stab wound to the heart…The knife was not recovered,” court records document. 

The accused was convicted on his own guilty plea of manslaughter.

Defence counsel told the court Kirii was a father of four and was deeply remorseful. She pleaded for a lenient sentence. Kirii asked for mercy, saying he had young children who depended on him.

The prosecution acknowledged the accused had “saved court time” by entering a plea bargain. 

However, the prosecutor urged a custodial term, noting that a life had been lost.

“Counsel also submitted that the accused was not a first offender having been convicted of stock theft earlier.”

Chuka High Court judge Roselyne Lagat-Korir rejected the option of a non-custodial sentence, citing the unprovoked nature of the attack. 

“For his serious offence, the accused was liable to a long custodial sentence,” Justice Lagat-Korir stated in her ruling.

“To the mind of the court, the aggressive conduct was uncalled for, and the stabbing of the deceased was senseless.”

She also referred to the pre-sentence probation officer’s report, which indicated that local administration and some family members described Kirii as given to violence.

“The victim impact statement stated the family of the deceased was facing hardship owing to loss of their breadwinner.”

While acknowledging that manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, the court took into consideration the fact that the accused was remorseful and willing to take responsibility for his actions.

“He shall therefore be spared the maximum sentence. The sentence, however, must reflect the seriousness of the offence and serve justice to the victims,” the judge ruled. 

Kirii was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment, with the term backdated to September 17, 2024, the date of his arrest and pre-trial custody.

“The accused, having plea bargained the charge, has 14 days’ right of appeal against sentence only.”