A man who was given a three-year jail term for selling cat meat in Nakuru on Tuesday gave a clever explanation which landed him a reduced sentence from three to two years.
James Mukangi Kimani told the court during a review of his sentence that the cat had been hit by a car and he collected its carcass.
“I was wrongly sentenced by the court. I was drunk and was only playing around with the carcass. The cat had been hit by a car and am not responsible for its death,” Kimani indicated.
Kimani further stated he scared school girls with the carcass before falling asleep by the road with the carcass beside him only to wake up surrounded by people.
[caption caption="James Kimani in court over selling cat meat samosas"]
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When asked why he agreed to the charges of slaughtering an animal for human consumption in a manner that is deceptive in regard to its character, nature, value, substance, quality, merit in contrary to Food, Drugs and Chemical Substance act, Kimani told the court he did so since he was caught with the carcass.
“I pleaded guilty to the charges since I was caught with the cat carcass, the car that hit the cat did it well,” Kimani stated.
He faced a second count of slaughtering an animal on June 24 in an open ground opposite Nakuru Provincial General Hospital, contrary to regulations set under the Meat Control Act.
Kimani asked the court to be lenient on him and reduce the three years sentence imposed on him: “Reduce the sentence imposed on me. I have never slaughtered a cat.”
State Counsel Jackson Motende argued that the man had pleaded guilty to the offence hence the magistrate was guided by law in imposing the sentence on the man.
According to the prosecution, the fine of Ksh50,000 imposed on the man for slaughtering the animal in an undesignated place was excessive arguing he should have been fined Ksh10,000.
[caption caption="James Kimani when he was caught with a cat carcass in Nakuru"]
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Kimani who allegedly sold the meat to samosa traders had earlier informed the court that he was framed and had no intention of hurting anyone.
