This archive report was first published on 17 July 2019.
On April 29, 2017, a brutal murder shook the community in Kieni West sub-county. Daniel Oyondi Moi, a 34-year-old farmhand, hacked Regina Kinya to death outside Mweiga Police Station.
According to the court ruling, Moi had been stalking Kinya, who was in a relationship with the father of her children. When she rejected his advances, Moi became enraged and attacked her with a machete, slashing her hands and head.
Justice Teresiah Matheka, in her ruling, noted that Moi's actions were motivated by suspicion that Kinya was being promiscuous. The judge stated that Moi could have simply walked away, but instead chose to kill Kinya, sending a strong message that marital or relationship disputes cannot be resolved through violence.
“Courts must send the strongest message marital or relationship disputes cannot, should not and should never be resolved through killing or causing any harm to the other party,” stated Justice Matheka.
During the trial, Moi claimed he was provoked after calling Kinya several times and his phone call was answered by an unidentified man. However, Justice Matheka dismissed this claim, stating that Moi's actions were inhumane and had left Kinya's children as orphans.
“Regina’s vessel of life will never sail in this sea of the existence that we all know. It is drowned by the storms caused by the accused’s person’s inhuman action. The lives of her children were thrown into the storms that come when you are an orphan,” said Justice Matheka.
