Court declares life imprisonment unconstitutional
3 min read
Court of Appeal abolishes life imprisonment as it declares it unconstitutional
Court of Appeal abolishes life imprisonment as it declares it unconstitutional.
In a decision that might have an impact on past criminal proceedings, the Court of Appeal annulled the life sentence and deemed it unconstitutional on Monday, July 10.
The historic decision was handed down by Justices Pauline Nyamweya, Jessie Lesiit, and George Odunga at the hearing of Julius Kitsao Manyeso v. Republic (2023). The decision establishes a key legal precedent.
The three-judge panel concluded that it was unreasonable to remove the death penalty while keeping prisoners incarcerated for the rest of their lives.
They added that life imprisonment is contrary to the goal of conviction, which is to rehabilitate offenders.
“We are equally guided by this holding by the Supreme Court of Kenya, and in the instant appeal, we are of the view that having found the sentence of life imprisonment to be unconstitutional, we have the discretion to interfere with the said sentence,” the bench ruled.
Kitsao was given a life sentence by a magistrate court for allegedly defiling a juvenile, and his attempts to obtain legal redress at the High Court were unsuccessful.
In a last attempt to set himself free, Kitsao filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal, where the bench ruled that jailing a person is to deter, rehabilitate, denounce, or retribute for the offence committed.
Police provide update on catholic priest who died in a lodging after girlfriend admission
Sudan army delegation boycotts IGAD meeting over Ruto chairmanship
Raila rallies supporters to turn up for signature collection drive as he storms Nairobi CBD
CS Kuria fires warning to Uhuru Kenyatta over Azimio protests
As a result, Kitsao’s life sentence went against the intent of imposing prison sentences.
The Court of Appeal stated that Kitsao’s life imprisonment from a magistrate court was equivalent to the illegal death penalty.
“For all practical purposes, in terms of execution of the sentences, life sentence, and death sentence seem to mean the same thing in this country,” the bench ruled.
As such, Kitsao was ordered to serve a sentence of 40 years for deterrence and rehabilitation to run from the date of his conviction.
The 3-judge bench, in its judgment, also relied on the famous Francis Karioko Muruatetu versus the Republic case.
A 2021 Supreme Court ruling determined that handing a life sentence to Muruatetu for murder was out of sync with the progressive Bill of Rights in Kenya’s 2010 Constitution and an affront to the rule of law.
The Supreme Court upheld a ruling by the High Court in 2017 declaring that the mandatory death penalty for murder, imposed on Muruatetu, was unconstitutional.
Muruatetu 1, it underlined, equally applies to the imposition of a mandatory indeterminate life sentence which denies a convict facing life imprisonment the opportunity to be heard in mitigation.
Also read,
Raila catches the government unaware in his latest move
Tanzania and Uganda beat Kenya in foreign direct investments; UN report
Raila opts for Matatu as he heads to work
US in a joint operation with Kenya takes out TEN AlShabaab Terrorists
Follow us
