A Kisumu man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after admitting to killing his neighbour during a confrontation, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has said.
The High Court in Kisumu sentenced the man after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter following a plea agreement with the prosecution.
According to a statement from the ODPP, the man had initially been charged with murder over the death of his neighbour who died on November 6, 2024, at Nyawita in Kisumu Central Subcounty.
"He denied the charge when first arraigned before subsequently entering into a plea agreement with the prosecution," the statement said.
The agreement, dated May 25, 2026, led to the filing of a substituted charge sheet on June 5, 2026.
The accused subsequently pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter on June 15, 2026, and was convicted on his own plea.
The court heard that the man and his neighbour were involved in a confrontation before he armed himself with a kitchen knife and stabbed the deceased in the lower left abdomen.
"The victim sustained a fatal injury and managed to stagger home before being rushed to hospital, where he succumbed to massive internal bleeding," DPP stated.
A post-mortem examination confirmed that the stab wound was the cause of death.
In determining the sentence, the court considered both mitigating and aggravating circumstances surrounding the killing.
The court noted that the convict was a first offender and had accepted responsibility for the offence by entering into the plea agreement.
However, the court also took into account his conduct during a probation interview, where he failed to demonstrate remorse over the killing.
The court further noted that neither the convict nor his family had made efforts to reconcile with the deceased’s family following the incident.
The views of the local administration and members of the community were also considered during sentencing.
According to the DPP, members of the community and local administration had opposed the imposition of a non-custodial sentence.
"While balancing the mitigating and aggravating factors, the court found that a 12-year custodial sentence was just, fair and proportionate," added the statement.
The sentence will, however, run from November 18, 2024, when the convict was first remanded in custody.
The decision was made pursuant to Section 333(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, which requires the court to take into account the period an accused has spent in custody before sentencing.
The DPP said the prosecution secured the sentence following the plea agreement, bringing the case over the neighbour’s death to a conclusion at the High Court in Kisumu.
The convict was granted 14 days within which to appeal against the sentence.
