Businessman Tom Oywa Mboya has been sentenced to 20 years in jail by a Nairobi court for attempting to murder Ranalo Foods restaurant owner William Osewe.
Mboya is said to have shot Osewe multiple times in December 2016 at Garden Estate in Kasarani following an argument over Stella Mutheu, a woman believed to be the latter’s wife.
Milimani Chief Magistrate Martha Mutuku also handed the businessman another three years for the offence of wounding a security guard, Wilfred Ombunya Tembula during the incident.
File image of businessman Tom Oywa Mboya. |Photo| Courtesy|
In his defence, the businessman had told the court that on the fateful night, Osewe saw him as he was walking out a hotel and came towards him, accusing him of having an affair with his wife.
He told the court that Osewe also had a pistol and that he just wanted to scare him off but accidentally shot him. Mboya claimed that he drew his gun, cocked once and aimed at Osewe's hand to scare him off.
The accused further told the court that he did so in self-defence because Osewe had threatened to shoot him twice in the past.
Mboya was found guilty of attempted murder in a court ruling on September 27, 2021. He was held at the Industrial Area remand prison pending today's sentencing.
Justice Mutuku stated that Mboya shot Osewe four times, and it was not possible he committed the offence in self-defence.
"It is not disputed that Mboya shot Osewe. He did so not once but four times...The accused person, being a trained user of firearms, ought to have contemplated the act of shooting in public could have caused injury to the public,” she said.
In mitigation, Mboya pleaded for leniency, saying he was a polygamous family man who had many dependants to care of.
Following the 2016 shooting, Osewe was admitted at the Aga Khan Hospital’s High Dependency Unit (HDU) where he underwent surgeries to remove the bullets.
Mboya surrendered himself to Kasarani Police Station, after which he was arraigned in court where he pleaded not guilty in 2017 and was released on a cash bail of Ksh300,000.
