A bandit from Baragoi in Samburu county has escaped death row and will now serve 15 years instead.
The Court of Appeal quashed his death sentence.
On February 27, 2014 at 10am, Esmith Lodip found Douglas Lekisat at a river having driven his herd of 23 goats and 12 sheep to water.
Lodip, with another young man, armed with deadly riffles ordered Lekisat at gunpoint to surrender at once.
Lekisat moved a side but did not go far and the two took over the flock and led them a way, all valued at Sh210,000.
The herdsman then immediately went to report the incident at the Baragoi police station. Police later recovered two goats and 11 sheep, which they returned to him.
The complainant was thereafter called by the police to attend an identification parade where he positively identified Lodip as the men who robbed him. A total of 15 goats were recovered later.
It turned out that Lekisat personally knew Lodip as he was his friend.
In court, Lodip’s father testified against him, saying that he was at home on that day when he saw his son return with three goats. He questioned him on where the animals were from. Lodip insisted that they were his goats.
The father told the court that sometime later some Turkana men came to his home looking for stolen goats, and he released the three goats to them.
One of the men identified the goats and they were taken to the chief. The father was arrested but was later on released. His son Lodip was later arrested.
Lodip denied robbing his friend at gunpoint and at the end of trial, he was convicted by the magistrate of lesser charge of handling a stolen property. He was given 14 years.
But he appealed at the High Court, complaining that the magistrate lacked jurisdiction to hear his matter, being a felony.
But the High Court dismissed his cause, saying that the incident happened at 10am in a broad daylight, making it error-free. It also found that the court had jurisdiction.
The High Court after a fresh review found that the man had committed robbery with violence and sent him to death row.
Lodip then appealed at the Court of Appeal, going after the conviction and the sentence as harsh and inhumane.
The prosecution urged the court to uphold the penalty because of the rampant cases of livestock theft in the region.
“The [prosecution] urged the court to take judicial notice of the rampant cases of livestock theft and use of illegal firearms in Baragoi area, and submitted that upholding the death sentence would serve as a deterrent.”
It also urged that the man did not express any remorse during his trial hence deserved every punishment afforded in law.
The court, however, reprieved Lodip, saying that the High Court’s decision to convict him for robbery with violence and sentence him to death was illegal because it did not afford him the opportunity for mitigation.
“The High Court enhanced [the man’s] sentence from 14 years’ imprisonment to death. We find that this warrants our interference. We so find because the learned judges did not give the appellant an opportunity for mitigation,” the judgement reads.
Mitigation is a crucial component of sentencing, where the convict is afforded opportunity to tender his or her plea and a probation report given to court before being sentenced.
The court also found that the mandatory nature of the death sentence imposed on the man was unlawful as per the Supreme Court’s 2017 Muruatetu decision.
It however upheld the conviction of robbery with violence. It then reduced the man’s sentence to 15 years.
“… the appeal against conviction is dismissed. However, the appeal against sentence is allowed. The sentence of death is set aside and in substitution thereof the appellant is sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment to take effect from September 3, 2014 when the appellant was sentenced,” judgement dated November 24 reads.
