A 31-year-old man has been sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted of assaulting his wife and causing her serious injuries in Tana River County.
Michael Orina was found guilty of grievous harm contrary to Section 234 of the Penal Code by Senior Resident Magistrate Rachael Njoki at the Garissa Law Courts. The prosecution, led by Daniel Kariuki, presented four witnesses to establish the case against him.
The court heard that the incident occurred on June 15, 2025, at around 7pm in Madogo, Bangale Sub-County, following a disagreement between Orina and his 41-year-old wife over money he was expected to give her. During the confrontation, Orina allegedly assaulted his wife with blows before hitting her against a door, leaving her with a fracture to her left arm.
The woman, a mother of two, raised an alarm, attracting the attention of her landlord, who came to her assistance and escorted her to Madogo Police Station to report the incident. She was subsequently taken to hospital, where medical examinations confirmed that she had sustained an extensive fracture. She received treatment at Garissa County Referral Hospital and was issued with a P3 form before being discharged.
Her landlord later helped her secure accommodation in a separate house for her safety. However, the prosecution told the court that the violence continued the following day when Orina allegedly confronted his wife along the road as she headed to work and injured her already fractured arm, forcing her to seek further medical attention.
In determining the sentence, Magistrate Njoki considered the pre-sentence report, which highlighted Orina’s history of substance abuse, lack of remorse and poor attitude towards court attendance. The court also considered the victim impact statement, which revealed that the complainant had previously experienced assaults that affected her employment. On one occasion, Orina reportedly confronted her at the school where she worked, an incident that resulted in her interdiction.
The woman told the court that she feared for her safety if her husband was given a non-custodial sentence.
Orina was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment and informed of his right to appeal the decision within 14 days.
