This archive report was first published on 8 August 2019.
On August 8, 2019, the High Court in Nyeri handed down a 30-year jail sentence to Emily Mukiri, a 28-year-old pregnant woman, for killing her 34-year-old husband, Francis Mwiti Mukio, in 2018.
Emily pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter after plea bargaining with the prosecution, which had initially charged her with murder.
According to court records, the incident occurred on August 2018 at their home in Muthinga shopping centre, Tetu sub-county, after Francis returned home drunk at around 1am, sparking a violent confrontation with his wife.
Emily picked a kitchen knife and stabbed her husband multiple times in the abdomen and the face, leaving him bleeding in the house.
Hours later, Francis received a phone call from a police officer informing him that his wife had been arrested for disorderly conduct, but he instead reported to the police that he had been assaulted by his wife at their home.
He succumbed to the stab injuries at Nyeri County Referral Hospital.
Emily's lawyer urged the court to consider the Victim Impact Report, which highlighted her history of being a battered wife and the deceased's history of drug abuse.
However, Justice Mshila ruled that the crime committed was unfortunate, but the accused did not deserve a non-custodial sentence.
