The High Court has dismissed the defense of Beatrice Mwende, a woman who argued that she was possessed by demons when she killed her four children, sentencing her to life in prison.
While delivering the ruling on Thursday, March 2, Naivasha High Court Judge Grace Nzioka stated that the mental tests conducted on the convict indicated that she was of sound mind when she committed the offenses.
The judge added that each of the four murders attracted a life sentence. However, since the first count had already condemned her to life in jail, she would spend time in jail under the first sentencing.
"The convict told the court that on the day she murdered her children, she was possessed by evil spirits.
“Her claim that she was possessed by evil spirits at the time of the act cannot be proven in court. As a result, she is sentenced to life in prison," ruled Justice Grace Nzioka.
Moreover, the High Court gave the convict 14 days to file an appeal against the judgment.
The 44-year-old teacher strangled her children aged eight, six, four and two years old in June 2020.
Prosecutor Nelly Maingi earlier stated that after strangling her children, Mwende slept in the same house before fleeing to a lodging in Kayole estate in Naivasha the following morning on June 27.
Maingi additionally stated that the 44-year-old called her relatives to apologise after confessing that she had killed her children.
At the scene police found a letter addressed to her son explaining that she was facing financial challenges and would not have committed the murders if she had a stable job.
She had earlier denied the charges but later confessed to killing her children after consulting her lawyer.
The four children were laid to rest in Nyandarua on Thursday, July 2, 2022, in a single grave with coffins placed side to side.
