By Andrew Kariuki
The High Court in Nairobi has sentenced a 33 year old woman to 10 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the killing of her co-wife following a domestic dispute in 2022.
In the judgment delivered at the Milimani Law Courts, Justice Kanyi Kimondo found that the circumstances of the offence warranted a custodial sentence, citing the severity of the attack and its lasting impact on the victim’s family.
The accused, Sarah Namono, had initially faced a murder charge but entered into a plea agreement on October 1, 2025, admitting to the lesser offence of manslaughter.
By that time, two prosecution witnesses had already testified in the case.
The court noted that the conviction was based entirely on facts admitted by the accused in the plea agreement.
According to the facts presented, the incident stemmed from a dispute between Namono and her co-wife, Grace Kibone, on September 22, 2022, at their husband’s business premises along Juja Road in Nairobi.
During the altercation, the deceased reportedly poured out food that belonged to the accused, triggering a confrontation between the two women.
Although they were separated, the accused left the scene after allegedly concealing a knife in her clothing and warning that it would be the last time the deceased would see their husband.
The following evening at about 9:30 p.m., Namono returned to the premises and attacked Kibone with the knife.
The court heard that she stabbed the deceased, who fell to the ground, before continuing to inflict injuries to her neck and face.
The accused then pushed her into a nearby trench and threw stones at her as she attempted to escape, while issuing threats to a witness who tried to intervene.
Kibone was rushed to hospital but later succumbed to her injuries.
A post-mortem examination established that she died from massive bleeding caused by a deep wound to the neck.
Namono was arrested by members of the public, who assaulted her before police intervened and took her for treatment and subsequent detention.
In sentencing, the court considered mitigation presented by the accused, who expressed remorse and described the deceased as her friend.
She also told the court that they had jointly raised children who now depend on her and asked for leniency.
However, a pre-sentence report prepared by the probation office did not recommend a non-custodial sentence.
The court also took into account the views of the victim’s family, noting that the deceased, a 32 year old Ugandan national, had been a key provider.
Her death left behind three young children now under the care of their grandmother in Uganda, with the family said to be deeply affected both emotionally and financially.
Justice Kimondo observed that while the accused was a first offender and had shown remorse, the level of violence used in the attack was a serious aggravating factor.
The judge noted that the use of a knife to inflict fatal injuries, coupled with the continued assault even as the victim attempted to flee, demonstrated a high degree of brutality.
“Manslaughter is a grave offence,” the court stated, adding that the sentence must reflect both the seriousness of the crime and the need for accountability.
The court therefore sentenced Namono to serve 10 years in prison.
The sentence will run from September 23, 2022, the date of her arrest, in line with the law.
The court further ordered that upon completion of her sentence, the accused, who was found to be an undocumented immigrant, be deported to Uganda.
