Man Convicted of Manslaughter for Running Over Wife as She Opened Gate For Him

An undated image of a police vehicle at a scene of a crime
A police vehicle pictured at a scene of a crime
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NPS

A Murang'a man who was accused of running over his wife in 2021 has been convicted of manslaughter.

A Kandara Law Court found the man guilty of the crime, despite his defence that unknown people had taken control of his vehicle and committed the crime, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) revealed in a statement on Wednesday, July 9.

The prosecution argued that on May 31, 2021, the suspect, who lived in the Mwana-wikio area of Gatanga in Murang'a county, used his vehicle, a Toyota Probox, to kill his wife after asking her to open the gate for him.

Reportedly, he had called her moments before, alerting her that he was approaching the gate and she should open the gate for him.

An image of  a legal scale and a gavel.
An undated image of a legal scale and a gavel.
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JSC

However, he drove his motor vehicle through the gate, crashing it and his wife in the process. She died instantly.

In court, the man claim that he had been accosted by unknown men who took control of his vehicle as he approached his gate and ran over his wife. He claimed that they then disappeared into the darkness after committing the murder.

The prosecution, led by Hilda Jebet and Millicent Oduor, however, claimed that there was no evidence to support the assertion that there were other persons present at the crime scene.

He is set to be sentenced on July 23 following his conviction.

Unfortunately, this is not a standalone crime, as there have been similar cases where both husbands and wives lure their spouses to their deaths in calculated schemes.

Just a few months ago, in March, a former United Nations (UN) employee was convicted of killing his wife in 2017 during a birthday trip to Naivasha in Nakuru County.

The trip, which he had supposedly planned to not only celebrate his birthday but also patch up their marital woes, turned tragic when his wife was found dead in the bathtub of the room they were staying in. At least 17 witnesses backed the prosecution's case, leading to his conviction on March 4.

The prosecution also claimed that the murder had been premeditated as Koskei had lured his wife to the lodge under the guise of a vacation, the whole time knowing his motive.

Police placing a suspect in handcuffs during an arrest
Police placing a suspect in handcuffs during an arrest
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NPS
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