This archive report was first published on 10 July 2019.
On July 10, 2019, a three-judge bench in Kisumu upheld the death sentences of seven men convicted of killing two fishermen in Suba, Homa Bay County in 2010.
The court, comprising Justices Asike Makhandia, Otieno Odek, and Patrick Kiage, ruled that the trial court did not err in convicting the seven men and sentencing them to death.
The seven men, including David Ongata, William Ayugi, Tilleny Odhiambo, Silas Onyango, Tiberius Ododa, and Peter Otieno, had been handed death penalties by Homa Bay high court after being found guilty of murdering Lameck Olima Ochieng and Felix Ouma Odhiambo at Dhogunda beach in Suba.
The suspects had appealed the sentence on six grounds, including that the High Court failed to consider the evidence they presented in court as their defense and that the sentence was excessive.
However, the appellate judges noted that the appellants failed to prove that the case was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt in the previous trial and that the appeal lacked merit.
“15 prosecution witnesses, including nine eyewitnesses, have pointed an accusing finger against them during this trial,” the judges added.
