Court orders man who killed father to undergo counselling

Kenya: A 43-year-old man who killed his father was yesterday directed to undergo compulsory counselling for three years after the probation officer in prison confirmed to the court that he had a mental problem.

Joseph Kuria Mwangi will have to serve three years' probation and attend specialised counselling or else serve a long time in jail.

High Court Judge Fred Ochieng whilst sentencing Kuria cautioned him not to forfeit the mandatory counselling, saying the court had given him a lenient sentence in consideration of his condition.

The probation officer at industrial Area Prison, where he had been remanded for six years, confirmed to the court that Kuria had mental infirmity and urged the court to give Kuria a non-custodial sentence to help him deal with internal grief and self-unforgiveness. "The accused exhibited an emotional demeanour, was co-operative and realistic about his predicament and was not pensive," the probation officer said in a report.