An ex-prison warder at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, Patrick Daniel Lesadala, will face the death penalty for the murder of his girlfriend, Diana Karambu Nthiba.
Lesadala is said to have shot his girlfriend four times at her house in Zimmerman estate, Nairobi County, 14 years ago, in the presence Diana's 12-year-old son.
Judges Asike Makhandia, Gatembu Kairu and Agnes Murgor upheld a death sentence that had been imposed on the convict by High Court judge Fred Ochieng on June 19, 2013.
“Given the grisly, ghastly and callous nature and manner in which the appellant committed the offence, and right in the face of the deceased’s 12-year-old son, the death penalty was merited and we see no need to interfere with it,” the judges stated.
The Court of Appeal dismissed Lesadala's plea stating that the death penalty was merited.
The shooting occurred after a quarrel ensued between the two after which the former officer confessed to Seargent John Onyango, who operated a bar at the prison, People Daily reports.
The quarrel is said to have ensued after Ms Karambu visited her uncle in Dagoretti
The former prison warder then requested his colleague to issue him with the pistol and 10 rounds of ammunition.
He lied to the colleague that he was on a special assignment to find and arrest an escaped prisoner deemed hostile and dangerous.
