This archive report was first published on 9 September 2019.
On September 9, 2019, a court in Kakamega, Kenya, handed down a two-year jail sentence to Musalia Mudavadi, 28, for stealing a chicken worth Sh600.
Mudavadi, also known as Caleb, was convicted on his own plea of guilty by Kakamega Senior Principal Magistrate Dolphine Alego.
The court was told that Mudavadi had tiptoed to the kitchen of his neighbor, Julius Miheso Alubala, where the chicken was housed, and committed the felony.
However, Mudavadi was not lucky on this occasion, as he had been lucky on at least three previous occasions when he had helped himself to his neighbors' chickens without facing instant justice.
According to the pre-sentencing report prepared by probation officer Gregory Masingila, Mudavadi was a 'seasoned thief who had escaped mob justice frequently' and had weak ties with the community due to his stealing habits.
The report also revealed that Mudavadi was a class seven dropout and had been convicted previously for the same offense.
In his mitigation, Mudavadi sought leniency, saying he wanted to sell the chicken to enable him to get money to buy maize flour and feed his ailing father who allegedly suffers from cancer.
However, the magistrate, Dolphine Alego, said the serial offense committed by Mudavadi was serious and could endanger his life in the village, and therefore attracted a deterrent sentence.
