Kenyan Woman Who Killed Abusive Husband Handed One-Day Non-Custodial Sentence

A 49-year-old woman who killed her husband in a domestic row has been handed a one-day non-custodial sentence.

The judgment was delivered on Wednesday by Siaya High Court judge Roselyne Aburili, who noted that the accused had undergone immense suffering at the hands of her abusive and violent husband.

The judge termed the accused, Truphena Aswani, as a victim of domestic violence, adding that her husband constantly threatened to kill her over a title deed.

Justice Aburili said Aswani would be remembered as a butchered, battered, dehumanized, and violated woman who had no voice, stating that she persevered through the domestic violence.

The court heard that her late husband had previously separated with his two other wives, who were also subjected to violence and abuse. His four children with the two former wives had been left under the care of the accused.

The court was told that the accused was once admitted to hospital after she was battered during an argument.

On the day Aswani killed him, James Oyengo Obochi had returned home drunk and demanded to be given the title deed to a parcel of land bequeathed to his wife by her late father.

When she declined to hand him the land ownership document, the man went to their bedroom and emerged with a machete and tried to hack her.

In self-defense, Aswani seized the weapon and slashed him multiple times before pulling his body to a neighbor’s farm, where she covered it with grass. She was later arrested after admitting she killed the man on December 15th, 2020.

Judge Aburili said the accused deserved a non-custodial sentence to allow her to get counseling for the traumatic experience she went through before, during, and after the death of her husband, whom she loved and stuck with despite his HIV-positive status, yet she was HIV negative.

The judge added that Aswani takes care of the deceased’s children whose mothers left due to his violence. She further explained that her ruling would enable others who have suffered a similar fate to have their voices heard.