A man in Kilifi has been jailed for three decades after being convicted of murdering his wife.
The High Court in Mombasa delivered the judgment on Friday, February 27.
Justice Wendy Kagendo determined that Murad Awadh Mbaraka committed the offence with intention and aforethought malice.
The 40-year-old was convicted of killing his wife, Ibrahim Nuru, after domestic disputes, with one stemming from her Instagram account.
The incident occurred in June 2022 in Majengo Kanamai, Kilifi County.
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The judge noted that the sentence would serve both as punishment and a deterrent against domestic violence.
Through its counsel Frank Sirima, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) presented a watertight case built on the testimony of ten witnesses.
Prosecution demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that the accused acted with malice aforethought and premeditation on the night of June 19, 2022.
The DPP celebrated the judgment, saying it was a significant victory after over three years of pursuing jusice on behalf of the late Nuru.
Among the witnesses were the couple's children, with some telling the court the horrific moment in which their mother was brutally killed.
"Evidence before the court showed that the attack occurred in the presence of the couple’s five children. An 11-year-old daughter recounted hearing her mother scream for help as the accused repeatedly assaulted her. Neighbours who responded to the distress calls were reportedly threatened and blocked from offering assistance," the DPP said.
Forensic evidence firmly tied the accused to the crime scene, revealing traces of the victim’s blood on a knife, fragments of a baby’s cot allegedly used in the assault, and on the accused’s clothing.
Witness testimony dismantled the claim that an intruder was involved, while the employer discredited the accused’s alibi.
The convict was granted 14 days to appeal against the decision.
This came weeks after another murder convict got death sentence.
On February 19, the High Court in Nyeri handed a death sentence to 35-year-old Nicholas Julius Macharia for the murder of seven-year-old Tamara Blessing Kabura.
Delivering the ruling on Thursday, February 19, Justice Magare Kizito noted that Macharia’s guilty plea did not diminish the severity of the crime.
The court was told that Tamara, a Grade One pupil at Judah Academy, was killed on May 24, 2025, after encountering Macharia, a man known to her family, within Nyeri Township.
