Set Free After 14 years In jail
A Mombasa court has freed an 80-year-old grandmother and her 43-year-old son who were serving life sentences for the murder of the family patriarch.
Justice John Mativo relayed the ruling via a video link to Shimo la Tewa jail, where the two had spent the previous 14 years, Ms. Rehema Abdalla Wanje could not contain her pleasure together with Mr. Said Abdalla, her son, when the High Court granted their petition for resentencing.
The two were found guilty of jointly murdering Abdalla Kazungu Wanje in Biriyaaa village, Kaloleni sub-county to death. Mr. Wanje, Ms. Rehema's spouse and Mr. Abdalla's father, died as a result of multiple head fractures caused by a stone.
Their death sentences were later converted to life without the possibility of parole. Justice Mativo sentenced them to 14 years in prison, which they had already served, citing the probation officer's favorable findings on each of them.
"I visited Shimo la Tewa Women's Prison during my supervisory visits to the prison, where I met the second petitioner" (Ms. Rehema). "She is elderly and weak, and in my opinion, prison life is difficult for someone her age," Justice Mativo stated.
The judge said he had weighed the necessity to give both a chance to reconstruct their lives, noting that the petitioners were regretful. He expressed his belief that they had learned from their mistakes.
"I'm struck by their shared yearning to return home and reunite with their families. "I am convinced that the order that best serves the interests of justice is for them to be released," he stated.
BY
BEATRICE MBUGUA
Tags:
