Man sentenced to 40 years for murder over Sh10

Nakuru, Kenya: A man accused of stabbing to death a woman over Sh10 change will serve 40 years for the offense, a Nakuru court has ruled.

High court Judge Justice Anyara Emukule Tuesday found Joseph Mariga Maruga guilty of murdering Mercy Lorunye on October 10, 2008 in Ngomongo village, Nyahururu.

"From the evidence produced in court, it is clear that the accused person killed the deceased and is therefore guilty of the offense of murder. I sentence you to 40 years in prison without the option of parole until you would have served 20 years in prison," he ruled.

Court had earlier heard that the accused, who was equally inebriated on the fateful day, went berserk over the said money and even after he was handed Sh20, he did not calm down.

Rose Lemeuri, a sister to the deceased, said Maruga came to the deceased’s home fervently demanding for the Sh10 which she allegedly owed him.

"After asking my sister for the money, he was given Sh20 and he left promising to bring back the change soonest," she said.
Lemeuri stated that Maruga did not return the balance immediately as promised.

"It was raining so when it subsided, my sister decided to go to the accused person's house to ask for her money," she told the court.

The witness said they were shocked when a child, who had accompanied the deceased to the accused's house, returned to the house screaming that Lorunye had been stabbed by the accused after a row ensued over the balance.

Another witness, Samuel Ngolong, recounted that after the incident, Maruga attempted to flee but was pursued by villagers.

He added that some the villagers soon caught up with him and started roughing him up before police officers arrived and rescued him.

He told the court that they managed to recover the blood stained knife allegedly used to kill the deceased in the one-roomed house where the accused lived.