Five sentenced to death for murdering suspected witch

Five men were Friday sentenced to death for the murder of an elderly woman by the Nakuru High Court.

The five were accused of assaulting and causing death of Ann Wanjiku on 5th of June 2010 at Kisumu Ndogo in Nyandarua County.

In her judgment, Justice Maureen Odero ruled that the prosecution proved that the accused persons assaulted the deceased leading to her death. The five had committed the act on suspicion of having committed witchcraft.

The court was told that Anthony Macharia, Simon Njuguna, John Karia, John Nganga and Peter Matheri, stormed the home of the deceased and beat her up before dragging her away.

Neither suspicion that Wanjiku was practicing witchcraft, nor the presence of witchcraft paraphernalia in her house gave the convicts a right to commit murder, said Justice Odero.

The judge further said the prosecution proved the five killed Wanjiku, and that their assault was the direct cause of her death.

Grace Nyambura, a niece to the deceased, told the presiding Magistrate that she was alerted about the attack on her late aunt via a phone call. Nyambura quickly rushed to where the deceased was and rushed her to  Naivasha District Hospital for treatment.

Sadly, the beating had taken a toll on Wanjiku and she passed on while receiving treatment.

Nyambura told Justice Odero that the deceased was badly injured, and she had suffered injuries on her face and head.

Presiding Magistrate noted that there was no shred of evidence that the deceased practiced witchcraft, which was the main reason why the accused persons beat her up.

Justice Odero told the 5 convicts that they should have entrusted the matter to the police instead of taking the law into their hands.

“In any event, they could have taken her to a police station instead of taking the matter in their own hands. The injuries inflicted on the deceased are evidence of forethought,” court ruled.

The five men have been given 14 days to appeal the verdict, should they have any dispute with the ruling.

Practicing witchcraft is illegal in Kenya. According to CAP 67, also known as the Witchcraft Act, a person who is found guilty of practicing witchcraft can be jailed for up to five years.

Should one use witchcraft to harm others, they can receive a jail sentence of up to 10 years.

“Any person who advises any person applying to him how to bewitch or injure persons, animals or other property, or who supplies any person with any article purporting to be a means of witchcraft, shall be guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years” reads the Act.