The Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal of Adriano Kithumbi, a man convicted of murdering his own brother, David Muthengi M’Ruanda, but reduced his life sentence to 25 years imprisonment.
Kithumbi was found guilty of killing his brother on October 12, 2014, during a heated family dispute over land at their mother’s homestead.
Testimony from their elderly mother, Marietta Nchoga then over 100 years old revealed that the two sons had been speaking peacefully until Kithumbi suddenly accused others of stealing his land, then struck his brother fatally with a panga. Witnesses, including the deceased’s sons, corroborated the brutal attack.
During the trial, Kithumbi claimed he acted in self-defence after being provoked and attacked first. However, the trial court convicted him of murder and handed him a life sentence. On appeal, his lawyers argued that the court failed to consider provocation, self-defence, and his advanced age.
In its judgment, the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction, finding that the evidence clearly showed malice aforethought citing the fatal neck injury, the choice of weapon, and the targeted body part as proof of intent to kill. However, the judges noted the evolving jurisprudence around indefinite sentences and determined Kithumbi had a right to know the length of his imprisonment.
Accordingly, the court set aside the life sentence and substituted it with a 25-year prison term, backdated to November 20, 2014, the date he first appeared in court.
The ruling ends a decade-long legal battle that exposed the deadly consequences of unresolved family disputes over land.
