This archive report was first published on 27 June 2021.
On June 27, 2021, Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi appeared on the Churchill Show to discuss the nuances of murder, provocation, and manslaughter in Kenyan law.
According to Abdullahi, a case is considered murder only if it involves premeditation. He used a hypothetical scenario to illustrate the difference between murder and provocation: if a person discovers their spouse or partner in bed with someone else and kills them, that is murder, not provocation.
However, if the person walks in on their spouse or partner in the act and kills them, that is considered provocation, not murder. Abdullahi emphasized that the key factor is whether the killing was premeditated or not.
Abdullahi also drew a distinction between murder and manslaughter, citing the example of a bar fight that results in a death. In such cases, the law considers it manslaughter, not murder.
Abdullahi's career has spanned many years, including serving as the chair of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) from 2003 to 2005 and being nominated to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) until 2013.
