Ruth Kamande
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The Supreme Court of Kenya today rejected a final appeal by Ruth Kamande, upholding her life sentence for the 2015 murder of her boyfriend, Farid Mohammed Halim.
Kamande, who gained fame as a former Miss Lang’ata Women’s Prison, sought to overturn her conviction by arguing that she suffered from "battered woman syndrome," a defense the court deemed insufficient to warrant a retrial or reversal of the original verdict. The ruling, delivered by a five-judge bench led by Chief Justice Martha Koome, affirms the High Court and Court of Appeal’s earlier decisions, effectively ending Kamande’s protracted legal battle.
The core of her appeal centered on the argument that the prolonged emotional and psychological abuse she allegedly endured should be recognized as a mitigating factor or an extension of self-defense. Her legal team argued that the court should consider her circumstances under the "battered woman syndrome" doctrine, which, they claimed, accounts for the unique plight of women in abusive relationships.
The Supreme Court, however, clarifies that while the concept of "battered woman syndrome" is not inadmissible in Kenyan courts, it cannot stand alone as a legal defense. Rather, it may be integrated into existing defenses such as self-defense, provocation, or temporary insanity, provided there is substantial evidence to support such claims. In Kamande’s case, the court found significant inconsistencies and inadequacies in her defense.
During the initial trial, she claimed that the fatal stabbing occurred after discovering evidence of Halim’s possible health status, triggering a heated argument. However, the court notes the absence of concrete evidence to corroborate a sustained pattern of abuse. Further, the judges criticises her decision to provide an unsworn statement during the trial, preventing the prosecution from cross-examining her assertions.
The court also emphasizes that the "battered woman syndrome" defense was not raised during the initial High Court or Court of Appeal proceedings, making its introduction at the Supreme Court level procedurally inappropriate. This procedural oversight is cited as another critical factor in the dismissal of her appeal.
The prosecution argued that Kamande’s own description of her relationship with Halim as typically romantic, devoid of sustained or severe abuse, undermined her claim of suffering from "battered woman syndrome."
The Supreme Court bench, which included Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu and Justices Mohamed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala, and Njoki Ndung’u, reiterated that self-defense requires demonstrable evidence of an imminent threat, met with proportional force—criteria that Kamande’s actions failed to meet.
Kamande, who has been incarcerated at Kamiti Maximum Prison, has attracted public attention for her accomplishments while in custody. She was crowned Miss Lang’ata Women’s Prison in 2016 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Laws degree in 2024.