Man sentenced to death for killing friend

A man has been sentenced to death for killing his friend in Bondo village, Siaya County.

Jack Odhiambo had claimed his friend, Keith Owuor, had stolen Sh100,000 from him.

Mr Odhiambo is said to have traced Mr Owuor to his home where he hacked him to death.

Prosecution witnesses said they were convinced Odhiambo committed the offence.

High Court Judge Justice David Majanja cited Article 2 of the Constitution which provides that everyone has the right to life and shall be protected by law. "No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which the penalty is provided by law," Justice Majanja said.

In the same court, John Omondi was freed after nine years in remand without trial and put on two-year probation. He had been accused of killing his sister.

The trial had failed to take off several times since 2009 due to frequent transfer of judges. His lawyer argued there was no rationale to continue detaining him when his parents had forgiven him.