A teenage boy who strangled an eight-year-old girl has been spared the death penalty due to his age at the time he committed the offence.
Justice Jessie Lesiit ruled that although Erick Kimani was proved guilty of killing Rose Wanja in August 2014, he was still a teenager, aged 17 years, at the time and that he would be jailed at the President’s pleasure.
“He will therefore be detained at the President’s pleasure. The case will be brought to the President’s attention at the end of three years,” ruled Ms Lesiit.
The judge said if the President did not order Mr Kimani's release from prison after three years, he would be reminded every three years until he took action.
The prosecution called 11 witnesses to testify of the incident that happened in Kawaida village in Kiambu town on August 21, 2014.
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The court heard that Wanja’s parents had left her, her four-year-old brother and a new house help at home.
House help
The house help testified that on the day, the accused's brother went to play with Wanja and her brother. At around 9.30am, Kimani came to pick his brother to go and have porridge. Wanja and her brother were said to have followed the boys to their house.
Later the same evening, Wanja was found dead in a maize plantation near the accused's home. Postmortem results showed stab wounds on the neck, a fractured skull and signs of strangulation.
The judge concluded that circumstances of the incident pointed to the accused as the person who committed the crime.
