10-year-old Nakuru boy saves mother from serving 3 years in jail

The woman, who had been arraigned for causing her son grievous bodily harm, was saved from serving three-year jail term. [File, Standard]

A 10-year-old boy’s passionate plea on Monday, July 5 saved his mother from serving a three-year jail term.

Rebecca Nyakundi, a resident of Mang’u area in Rongai Sub-County, Nakuru County had been sentenced to prison for causing her son, Brian Mose, grievous bodily harm.

The court heard that on June 8, 2021 Nyakundi scalded her son with hot water over alleged indiscipline.

The boy, who had been asked by Nyakundi to wash utensils, had allegedly wiped them with a cloth, prompting his younger sister to report him.

The accused, a mother of three, picked a plastic ruler, which she used in hitting the child.

She, thereafter, scalded the boy with boiling water, which was in a sufuria.

Mose sustained burn injuries to the head, hands and legs.

Nyakundi is said to have locked the boy in the house for a few days as the sister attended school.

Mose, who raised the alarm, caught the attention of a neighbour, who took him to hospital.

Rebecca Nyakundi, pleaded guilty to the offence, and was supposed to serve a three-year jail term.

Her son, Brian Mose, however, pleaded with Nakuru Principal Magistrate Yvonne Khatambi to consider a non-custodial sentence for the accused.

The probation officer, Dorothy Ngigi, told the court that the boy had forgiven his mother, and that he was against her imprisonment, saying her jailing would cause him agony.

“The victim says he’s feeling better. He wishes to be reunited with his mother, whom he said he has forgiven. The boy said his mother reacted angrily because he wronged her,” said Ngigi in a report read to the court on Monday, July 5.

The boy’s plea moved the court. Principal Magistrate Khatambi, as a result, ruled that Rebecca Nyakundi serves a three-year noncustodial sentence, given the accused was a first-time offender.

“I sentence the accused to probation for a period of three years. During the said-period, the accused is expected to adhere to probation order, failure to which she should be arrested and a custodial sentence be imposed,” ruled the magistrate.