- 157 views
A Kisii County court has sentenced four men from Marani to a total of 135 years in prison for the violent murder of four elderly women accused of witchcraft.
The convicted individuals—Amos Nyakundi Ondieki, also known as Sonko, Evans Ogeto Okari, and Hesborn Ong’ondi Gichana—each received 40-year sentences. At the same time, Chrispine Makworo, Mr Ondieki’s son, was given a 15-year sentence due to his status as a minor at the time of the crime.
The court found the defendants guilty of the murders that occurred in October 2021, where the victims—Jemima Miranga (60), Agnes Ototo (57), Sigara Onkware (62), and Sindege Mayaka (85)—were lynched by a mob. The attack was ignited by accusations that the women had bewitched a local Form Four student.
Armed with machetes, hoes, axes, and clubs, the mob forcibly dragged the women from their homes and marched them to an open field in Nyagonyi village, where they were killed. Justice Waweru Kiarie, presiding over the case via a virtual court session, condemned the brutal nature of the crimes.
He remarked that such treatment of individuals is unconscionable and noted that the evidence established the perpetrators’ involvement in the killings. The judge invoked Section 21 of the Penal Code, explaining that all individuals sharing a common intention to commit an unlawful act are equally culpable. Out of 16 suspects initially charged, 12 were acquitted due to insufficient evidence.
Following the ruling, Christopher Mayaka, a son of the late Sindege Mayaka, has expressed relief at the verdict, stating that his mother’s spirit could now find peace. He calls upon those who were acquitted to return to the village with a renewed commitment to fostering peace and harmony in the community.