Man who threw beer bottle at matatu set free after one year

The High Court in Kisii has set free a man who spent more than a year in prison for hurling a bottle of alcohol at a moving passenger vehicle and shattering its windscreen.

Justine Nyabuto Nyamboche, who was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty, walked free after the court found that the remaining custodial term was no longer necessary in the interests of justice.

On March 2, 2025 at Mochengo Centre in Gucha, Kisii County, Christopher Obaiwa was driving a PSV with passengers on board when Nyamboche, then drunk, threw a bottle of alcohol that struck and broke the windscreen.

The damage was valued at Sh12,000. Nyamboche was arrested while still intoxicated. Photographs of the damaged windscreen were later produced in court as exhibits.

He was charged with malicious damage to property contrary to Section 339 (1) of the Penal Code in Etago Magistrate’s Court.

On 8 April 2025, he changed his plea to guilty, was convicted on his own admission, and was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.

Nyamboche, dissatisfied with the sentence, obtained leave and filed a petition of appeal dated 28 May, 2025. The ground of appeal were that the trial court had not adequately considered his youthful age and that he had been misled by fellow inmates into admitting the charge while hoping for a non-custodial option.

Further in his appeal, he stated that his mother had died recently and due to his age, he desired to marry, start a family and support dependents. He asked the High Court to either to set aside the sentence entirely or to substitute it with probation or another non-custodial measure under the supervision of a probation officer.

Justice Anne Okutoyi reviewed the record. She noted that the conviction itself rested on a clear plea of guilty and was not challenged. The only live issue was the appropriateness of the two-year custodial sentence.

While the original sentence was lawful, Justice Okutoyi found compelling reasons to intervene. Nyamboche had already served slightly more than a year and he had expressed remorse. His mother’s recent death and the existence of family members who depended on him were material considerations pointing toward rehabilitation and reintegration rather than continued incarceration.

The trial magistrate failed to direct for a pre-sentence or probation report and appeared to have given greater weight to the general prevalence of the offence than to the individual circumstances of the offender.

According to the Sentencing Policy Guidelines 2023, the judge emphasized that sentencing must pursue deterrence and retribution on one hand, restoration and rehabilitation on the other

Consequently, the appeal against sentence succeeded. The two-year prison term was set aside and substituted with a sentence equivalent to the period already served.