Life sentence stands for woman who killed five-year-old sister over Sh10

Court gavel and handcuffs. [GettyImages]

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal filed by a woman jailed for life for the brutal murder of her five-year-old sister over Sh10.

Justices Mohamed Warsame, John Mativo, and Paul Gachoka sitting in Nakuru noted that Esther Wambui was cruel and does not deserve mercy for killing the defenceless child.

The appellate judges further observed that Mumbi’s mother, Sarah Nungari, had entrusted the safety of Rebecca Mumbi to Wambui, only for her to turn against the child and brutally terminate her life.

According to court documents, on November 13, 2009, at Mau Narok, Wambui murdered Mumbi by canning her to death after she lost part of the money meant to buy rice.

Following the murder, Wambui was arrested and charged at the High Court in Nakuru. She was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Hoping to change her fate, she appealed against her conviction and sentence. But the court dismissed her appeal.

Wambui, then aged 23, was at her mother’s house with her two children following a failed marriage.

Nungari, her mother, went to fend for the family, leaving the children at home in the care of the eldest daughter, Wambui.

Wambui sent Mumbi to the shop to buy rice, but upon returning, she couldn’t account for the Sh10 she was giving agitating the sister.

She picked a stick and beat Mumbi mercilessly.

Their brothers testified that Wambui beat Mumbi, telling her she would continue until she dies, then leave her on the doorstep.

After brutally beating the minor, the woman took her behind the house, put a chameleon on her body, and continued beating her.

“She took the girl back to the house and continued beating her using a stick that had a nail, thus inflicting serious injuries on her body. After, the deceased became weak,” a 15-year-old testified.

She would later wash the sister and lay her lifeless body on the bed.

One of the brothers reported the incident to their father, who went to the house and found his daughter dead.

Wambui, at the time, had left to seek her mother, who collapsed after seeing the lifeless body of her daughter, leading to Wambui’s arrest.

In her defence, Wambui claimed that her sister was attacked by unknown boys who hit her with a catapult on the head.

“We have considered Wambui’s submission that the sentence of life imprisonment is harsh and excessive. It is noteworthy that the maximum sentence for the offence of murder is death. The learned judge, in his discretion, sentenced the appellant to life imprisonment,” the court observed.

The judges considered Mumbi’s tender age and the manner in which the offence was brutally executed.

“Taking into consideration the circumstances of this case, we find no reason to fault the sentence imposed by the learned judge. Accordingly, this appeal is devoid of merit and is hereby dismissed in its entirety,” the court ruled.