KENYA : The High Court in Eldoret has sentenced freelance photographer Jacktonne Odhiambo to serve 50 years in jail for the murder of LQBTQ activist Edwin Kiptoo Chiloba in Eldoret.
Justice Reuben Nyakundi termed the case aggregated homicide, and it was a murder that was premeditated, planned, and executed brutally.
He said the accused has shown no sincere or genuine remorse since the incident and that the accused deserved the death penalty which was not however implemented in Kenya.
He thus declined to issue a death penalty and said time had come for a clear recession to be made on the place of the death penalty/ Nyakundi said the evidence in the case favored application of the death penalty and argued that liniency insuch cases makes the judiciary a laughing stoke in the eyes of the public.
“I have looked at the matter and weighed all balances.and the middle ground between death penalty and life imprisonment is that you serve 50 years in jail for this offense”, said Nyakundi.
The judge said the nature and manner of killing the deceased was brutal because the accused inserted six pairs of sox in the throat and denied oxygen culminating in collapse of body system of the deceased.
“The killing was Premeditated and was with ill will and malice the extent that the accused used money for the deceased to buy a metallic box, hired a vehicle to carry body and concealed evidence “The footprints to this crime are all traceable to the accused”, said Nyakundi.
Before the judgment, Gaudensia Chelimo, who was a cousin to the deceased, asked the court for a death sentence or life imprisonment.
“May be that will appease the family though it won’t bring our brother back”, she said as she sobbed in court.
She said the family was devastated because Chiloba was was the only son in his family who had a bright future.
“He killed our son brutally inserting three pairs of sox in his mouth yet they were friends”, said Gaudensia.
She said the deceased was the only son to his father and died before siring a child and hence and entire generation in his linage had been lost through the death.
“We were surprised to find him at the morgue telling people that he was the only brother to the deceased. He was so shameless and used his money to buy clothes and women as our son was rotting at the morgue”, she said.
Lawyer Mathai said the accused at the age of 25 had been in remand prison for two years and proved he was able to transform and integrate with the community.
