Bomet man sentenced to serve four years in jail for manslaughter

Geoffrey Kiplangat Kirui, who has been in remand for the last six years, had been charged with the murder of Philip Kipsang Busenei by fatally stabbing him in the belly on October 15, 2018 at Sakalkit village in Kapkimalwa location.

However, the court found him guilty of a lesser offence of manslaughter.

In her ruling, Justice Roselyne Lagat said that “this court has found the accused person guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter contrary to section 202 as read together with section 205 of the Penal Code.”

The pre-sentence report which was availed before the trial judge by the Investigating officer, it indicated that the accused person is remorseful and has regretted his act hence praying for a non-custodial sentence.

According to the report, the community spoke well of the offender and vouches for his strong character negating that the victim was a naughty character in their community and advocated for him to be granted a non-custodial sentence.

It added that the families of the victim and of the accused were not only neighbors but also related by blood and marriage and they had entered in the reconciliation where they forgave the offender and conducted a traditional cleansing.

The prosecution, however, opposed the recommendation by the probation officer for a non-custodial sentence claiming that a life was lost and they proposed for a custodial sentence though lenient.

In determining the matter, Justice Korir noted that the accused has been in custody for six years after failing to meet the bond terms and also lauded the respective families for engaging in traditional reconciliation,

“The same was important for justice and societal harmony,” he stated.

He also considered the six years the offender has been in custody and reduced his sentence to four years imprisonment with effect from the say of the day he was sentenced.