The Supreme Court of Kenya on Friday, April 11, dismissed a petition by Ruth Kamande, who sought recognition for women who act out of suffering after prolonged abuse to be viewed differently from typical offenders.
Kamande, who was found guilty of murder after stabbing her boyfriend 25 times in 2015, had appealed her conviction on grounds of ‘battered woman syndrome’. In the petition, the Apex court was to make a landmark judgement on whether women in abusive marriages and accused of killing their spouses could use the aforementioned principle to demonstrate that their only means of escaping the abuse was to kill.
However, the Martha Koome-led court held that the battered woman syndrome has not attained the status of a stand-alone defence and it has to be raised in aid or as an extension of one of the existing legal stand-alone defences: self-defense, provocation or temporary insanity.
Furthermore, the Court held that where a party seeks to rely on the battered woman syndrome during trial, it should be raised at the earliest opportunity, in the same manner as any other Defence.
During her murder trial, Kamande had insisted that she acted in self-defence, having been attacked by Halim prior to picking up the knife. She had explained that the reason for the attack was that on the morning of the incident, she had discovered in their bed a card with her boyfriend’s name on it and the words “Aids Control Program.” A confrontation ensued, which resulted in a fight that led to the incident.
Her defence, spearheaded by former Attorney General Githu Muigai, stated that when a defence of self-defence is raised, especially in situations where the parties were in a relationship, as in Kamande’s case, it follows that the accused is supposed to be accorded a defence under the doctrine of battered woman syndrome and the test of loss of control.
However, the Court determined that when the defence of self-defence is pleaded in connection with battered woman syndrome, the standard of proof must be considered within the context of the legal standards applicable to defences relied upon by an accused person. Specifically, the burden lies with the defence to establish not only the existence of battered woman syndrome but also the extent to which it is applicable to the offence in question.
The Court held that, since the issue of battered woman syndrome was only introduced during the certification of this appeal before the Court of Appeal, it had not been adequately raised and addressed by the courts below.
Additionally, as per the Court, at no point during mitigation did the appellant mention being in an abusive relationship with the deceased. Due to that, this syndrome could not be considered or inferred as part of her claim of self-defence and/or provocation, which were the defences she raised at the trial.
Kamande, who had previously filed the petition in the Court of Appeal, found her case escalated to the Supreme Court after the appellate court found the issue surrounding battered woman syndrome to be new in Kenya and one that should be interrogated by the Supreme Court.
Consequently, in their interrogation of the matter, the Supreme Court found that the clarification and development of the law on the battered woman syndrome would best be achieved through the consideration of the facts in an appropriate matter; the testimony of victims and witnesses, including specialist analysis by expert witnesses; and the interpretation and application of laws and legal principles by the courts, before the matter could be considered ripe for final determination at the Court.
The latest ruling by the Supreme Court seemingly sealed Kamande’s fate, who is currently locked up in the confines of the Kamiti Maximum Prison serving a life sentence.
She was crowned Miss Langata Women's Prison in 2016. Last year, while serving her sentence, she graduated with a Bachelor of Laws Degree.
