This archive report was first published on 27 August 2019.
On August 27, 2019, a dramatic scene unfolded in an Eldoret court as five men convicted of armed robbery pleaded with the magistrate to adjourn their sentencing to seek divine intervention for lenient sentences.
According to the court records, Vincent Lagat, Alex Nyongesa, Jessy Maina, Daniel Gatuku, and Humprey Mwangi were found guilty of robbing Robbert Kaptich of his household items and other accessories valued at Sh46,450 on December 23, 2017, at Kesses village in Kesses Sub County.
During the sentencing, the convicts broke down in tears and pleaded with the court to give them more time to seek divine intervention. One of them told the court, “Your honour I’m shocked; I am almost fainting in this dock. Kindly allow me to go back to prison remand to cry to my God before you sentence me.”
Another convict said, “I am seeing stars with a bleak future” in prison after the pronouncement of their guilt. He also expressed disbelief, saying, “I cannot believe what I have heard I need a moment of silence with my God to know why God has allowed this judgment, I am yet to marry how will my life be if this court will sentence me.”
The court, however, was not moved by their pleas, and the magistrate, Charles Obulutsa, told them that the maximum sentence for the offence was life imprisonment. He directed the case to be mentioned on September 17, giving the convicts more time to prepare for mitigation and sentencing.
