A 36-year-old man jailed in 2018 for assaulting his father has been sentenced to 30 years for killing him three years later.
Jonathan Kiprop fatally attacked his father, William Kiptongony, on December 22, 2022, at Kapropita in Baringo County.
He had previously been convicted and sentenced to five years in prison for assaulting his father, but the sentence was reduced to community service in 2021.
Jane Chepyator, Kiprop’s mother, testified before Kabarnet High Court Judge Rachel Ngetich that on the morning of December 22, Kiprop told her he “wanted blood.”
“My son arrived home with a cup and a knife, claiming he wanted blood. He hugged me and requested my phone, removed the SIM card, and left with it,” she said. She reported the incident at Kabarnet Police Station but was referred to her area chief. She was later informed that her husband had been killed by her son.
Harrison Yator, Kiprop’s brother, said Kiprop found their father under a mango tree. “He used a panga to chop my father’s right hand. He later placed a stone on the door and chopped our father’s neck twice.
He then threw the body into a trench at our grandmother’s house,” he testified. Investigating officer Benjamin Rioba testified that he found Kiprop in his house around 8pm, alongside a blood-stained panga on the roof. Kiprop was arrested and his father taken to the morgue.
In his defence, Kiprop claimed he acted in self-defence against his aggressive father. In mitigation, he admitted the killing, saying they were both drunk and he acted out of provocation.
The court noted that Kiprop inflicted serious injuries and had failed to reform despite his previous sentence.
“The victim’s mother and siblings oppose a non-custodial sentence, fearing for their lives. I am inclined to impose a long custodial sentence to serve as a deterrent and allow rehabilitation,” Judge Ngetich said.
Kiprop was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
