Editor's Review

The convict reportedly told his wife that he could not raise the dowry required to take her back home and would rather kill her.

A man who attempted to kill his wife because he could not raise money to pay her dowry has been slapped with a 15-year prison sentence.

In a sentence delivered on Friday, November 13,  Kwale Law Courts, Senior Resident Magistrate Hon. Joy Mutimba convicted Leli Ngao of grievous harm contrary to Section 234 of the Penal Code.

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This came after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) proved its case against Ngao beyond reasonable doubt.

According to the DPP, the convict attacked his wife with a machete after they had a back-and-forth about him paying dowry months after they had their first child.

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"He reportedly told her that he could not raise the dowry required to take her back home and would rather kill her," the DPP wrote.

A file photo of a gavel in court

His wife, who was holding their 18-month-old baby at the time, sustained several defensive wounds including lacerations on her head and arms.

"Ngao then drew a panga concealed around his waist and slashed Piru twice on the left hand as she screamed for help. As she struggled to escape, she dropped the child and sustained further injuries to her right palm while attempting to block the weapon. She was also cut on the head as she tried to flee," the DPP added.

The convict then escaped into the wilderness, leaving his wife injured. She was later rescued by church members and ferried to the nearby hospital

However, locals tracked him down and wanted to avenge the attack, but he was rescued by police officers on patrol and handed over to the station within the jurisdiction where he committed the heinous act.

The DPP said that the magistrate cited the seriousness of the injuries inflicted, the use of a dangerous weapon and the fact that the victim was the accused person's wife.

She said the sentence should reflect the gravity of domestic violence and serve as a deterrent against similar offences.

Elsewhere, the DPP secured a 40-year prison sentence against a man who posed as a police officer and terrorised families and orchestrated a series of violent house robberies in Malindi and Kilifi towns.

Principal Magistrate Ivy Wasike handed Otieno the sentence after the prosecution successfully proved four counts of robbery with violence and one count of impersonating a police officer.