Kihika’s kin wins an assault appeal over sibling

Peris Kihika, the daughter of the late politician Kihika Kimani, who had been jailed for two years for assaulting her sister, is now a free woman.

This after the High Court in Nakuru quashed the sentence, which was handed to her on May 29,2015.

Peris had been accused of assaulting Caroline Kihika on March 29, 2013. She was sentenced in 2015, but she appealed the conviction.

Justice Rachel Ngetich set aside the conviction on Thursday evening, noting that the appellant was convicted without a watertight evidence.

“The prosecution evidence was not enough to prove that the appellant indeed assaulted her sister,” ruled Ms Ngetich.

She faulted the trial magistrate for ignoring the fact that the evidence by the prosecution pointed towards a fight rather than an assault.

“Prosecution witnesses admitted that they found the appellant fighting with her sister and even attempted to separate them. Nobody saw the alleged assault,” she said.

Ngetich also noted that the magistrate’s court relied solely on the complainant’s testimony without other witnesses’ corroboration.

Since her conviction, Peris had been out on Sh30,000 bond pending her appeal.