Kisumu man sentenced to death over four counts of murder

A Kisumu man has been sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty on four counts of murder.

In a sentence delivered at the High Court of Kenya at Kisumu, Hon. Justice Joe M. Omido convicted Shem Akuku Otieno, alias 'Daddy', of murder contrary to Section 203 as read with Section 204 of the Penal Code, Cap 63, Laws of Kenya.

Prosecution led by Ms. Mercy Mutheu Muema proved the State’s case against the accused, who was sentenced to death after his own unequivocal plea of guilty to all four counts.

The court heard that on February 24, 2024, at about 7:00 p.m, at Wagunga Village in Nyangoma Location, Muhoroni Sub-County, within Kisumu County, Otieno murdered his seven-year-old son, Joseph Ouma Akuku, by cutting him with a panga.

He then turned on his 26-year-old wife, Emily Adhiambo Akuku; his 74-year-old uncle, Thomas Odula Nyameche; and an ailing 56-year-old neighbour, Mary Kuya Otieno, killing all three.

The court further found credible evidence that Otieno had attempted to attack his sister, Monica Atieno, who narrowly escaped after he fell while pursuing her.

Otieno, whose psychiatric assessment confirmed he was mentally fit to stand trial, fled and hid in a nearby sugarcane plantation before surrendering to police after realizing that irate members of the public intended to lynch him.

The accused had initially been assigned pro bono legal representation and pleaded not guilty to all four counts.

He later informed the court, in the absence of his advocate, that he wished to take a fresh plea, telling the court directly: “I want to tell the court that I killed the four deceased persons. I want to plead guilty to all the four counts.”

Despite repeated caution by the court that murder carries the death penalty as its maximum sentence, Otieno maintained his decision to plead guilty, stating that he understood the consequence.

In its sentencing remarks, the court reflected on the sanctity of human life, invoking the words of poet John Donne in his Meditation XVII: “Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.”

The court observed that these words captured how every unlawful killing diminishes not only the immediate family of the deceased but also the wider human community.

The court held that the case involved the systematic killing of four people at different locations, carried out through deception and an abuse of family trust, and found it to be among the exceptional cases warranting the death penalty notwithstanding the accused's guilty plea and status as a first offender.

Citing the Supreme Court's decision in Francis Karioko Muruatetu & Another Republic [2017] eKLR, the court noted that while the mandatory nature of the death sentence had been declared unconstitutional, death remains a lawful sentence that may be imposed in appropriate and exceptional cases.

Otieno was accordingly sentenced to death for murdering his son, with identical death sentences imposed for murdering the wife, uncle, and Kuya, to be held in abeyance for as long as the sentence on count of killing the deceased son remains in force.

Ms. Muema, appearing for the State, welcomed the sentence, stating that justice had been served and offering condolences on behalf of the families of the four victims.

The convict was granted fourteen (14) days within which to appeal.