The Eldoret High Court has on Thursday sentenced murder suspect Naftali Kinuthia to 40 years in prison for the cold-blooded murder of his estranged lover Ivy Wangechi outside Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in 2019.
This brings the four-year murder trial to a close.
Eldoret High Court Judge, Justice Stephen Githinji in his ruling stated that he had heard the suspect's plea, but the sentence was proportionate to the heinous crime for which he was found culpable.
The 33-year-old Kinuthia, through his lawyer, expressed regret for the crime and claimed to have changed in the four years he had been in remand.
Kinuthia was arrested after attacking his then-estranged lover with an axe outside the university.
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He told the court that despite spending a lot of money on Wangeci over the years, she rejected him because he was short, hugged another man in front of him, and made a lot of money from him, knowing she did not intend to pursue their relationship further during the trial.
He testified in court that he continued to support Wangeci even after she became distant from him financially.
He stated that he had spent over Kes 100,000 on her and was in the process of reclaiming it from her parents after realizing that their love was not blossoming.
He told Justice Stephen Githinji just before killing her that he had sent her Kes 7,000 for her birthday, but she had not invited him to the party.
He was not offended, he said because he had been funding these parties for many years during their relationship.
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