The High Court has given a mother who murdered her four children in Naivasha two years ago a life sentence.
Beatrice Mwende, who killed the children by strangling them while sleeping close to their dead bodies, was found guilty after entering a guilty plea to the four murder charges.
Mwende was accused of strangling the youngsters to death in Kabati Estate, Naivasha, on the evenings of June 26 and 27, 2020.
The minors were Willy Macharia, Whitney Nyambura, Samantha Njeri, and Melody Warigia, all under the age of eight (2yrs).
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After careful consideration with her lawyer, Mwende informed the court last year that she had pled guilty to the four accusations.
Judge Grace Nzioka of the High Court emphasized in her sentencing that there was no proof the accused was mentally unwell at the time of the incident.
The judge stated that the former teacher was of sound mind when she killed the four youngsters based on the medical evidence presented in court.
Nzioka rejected the accuser's claim that she was acting under the influence of some spirits.
The defendant was given a life sentence after the judge rejected her claim that she was under the influence of demonic spirits when the crime was committed.
She was given a life sentence for each of the four offences in a decision virtually-delivered by the judge, who was keen to point out that she would only serve the first count.
The accused, who was grinning during the court hearing, had 14 days to appeal the ruling.
The accuser began by strangling the youngest girl to death before doing the same to the other three, according to the prosecution's Nelly Maingi.
She would stay in the same home until the following day when she would leave, tell her family that she had committed a terrible crime, and beg their pardon.
Before being prosecuted and charged in court, the accused was apprehended hours later in a lodge in the Kayole estate in Naivasha, according to the prosecution's testimony.
The accused is a first offender with no prior convictions, according to the post-mortem examination, and the youngsters died by strangling.
