Love gone sour: Kilifi man jailed for 30 years for murder
Garama Mboko was found guilty of killing and dumping Kadii Kilonga's body in a forest.
What you need to know:
- A post-mortem conducted on the woman's body showed that her death was caused by severe head injury.
- In his defence, Mboko denied committing the offence but acknowledged being prosecuted before the chief for having an affair with the woman and fined Sh10,000.
- In his mitigation, Mboko pleaded with the court for leniency but the judge dismissed his plea, saying his version was not a true story of what happened on the day of the murder.
After failing to settle a Sh33,000 fine imposed on them by elders for moral misconduct, Garama Mboko and his partner in crime killed their friend and dumped her body in a thicket.
Evidence produced in court showed that the two men kidnapped the woman from her residence and took her to a forest in Mrima, Ganze, where they murdered her in a love triangle gone bad.
Illicit affair
Prior to her killing, the two men had been found guilty of having an illicit affair with the woman. The matter was resolved by elders and a fine was imposed on them. Records showed that Mboko had been fined Sh10,000 for moral misconduct and another Sh13,500 for trespassing into the woman’s residence. His partner in crime, whose name was not provided in the court documents, had been fined Sh20,000 for a similar offence.
A relative of the woman said that the two men were known to be having an affair with woman and this resulted in the matter being adjudicated by the elders in 2013.
The witness said that Mboko had at one point threatened the victim. The matter was reported to an assistant chief in the area, who settled the dispute and ordered the man to pay a fine for trespassing.
However, the mediation instituted by the local leadership failed to solve the conflict after Mboko, again, while armed with a panga, threatened the woman.
Assault
Another witness told the court that she saw the two suspects assaulting the woman on May 31, 2017.
She said she was at her farm when she heard a woman scream in the nearby forest.
“I moved closer and saw the two men assaulting her,” said the witness.
The witness said she did not report the incident.
Sgt Steve Owuor, who investigated the matter, said he preferred murder charges against the two after gathering adequate evidence against them.
Mboko and his partner in crime denied murdering the woman. The name of Mboko’s co-accused was removed from court documents because he died during trial.
A post-mortem conducted on the woman's body showed that her death was caused by severe head injury.
In his defence, Mboko denied committing the offence but acknowledged being prosecuted before the chief for having an affair with the woman and fined Sh10,000.
Guilty of murder
“My affair with Kadii and her subsequent death caused me a lot of psychological stress which pushed me to attempt suicide,” he told High Court Judge Reuben Nyakundi in his defence.
Justice Nyakundi, who presided over the case, said evidence showed Mboko was guilty of murder.
In his mitigation, Mboko pleaded with the court for leniency but the judge dismissed his plea, saying his version was not a true story of what happened on the day of the murder.
Mboko said he regretted the offence.
Justice Nyakundi said evidence showed that the two conspired to commit the crime of murder.
The 30-year jail term starts from August 24, 2017, the judge said.
