A man who killed his 74-year-old father by attacking him with a panga while he was asleep has been sentenced to 30 years in prison by the Bomet High Court following a domestic dispute that turned deadly.
Michael Kerich received the sentence from Justice Julius Ng’arng'ar after admitting responsibility for the killing through a plea-bargaining agreement that reduced his initial murder charge to manslaughter.
In a statement issued on Friday, November 6, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) said Kerich attacked his elderly father at night while he was sleeping, inflicting injuries that led to his death.
The court heard that the fatal attack followed a domestic disagreement between Kerich and his father, although further details of the dispute were not provided.
Kerich had initially been charged with murder under Section 203 as read with Section 204 of the Penal Code, which outlines the offence and punishment for murder.
However, the charge was later reduced to manslaughter after the accused entered into a plea-bargaining agreement with the prosecution. Through the agreement, which was formally filed before the court, Kerich admitted responsibility and pleaded guilty to the lesser offence.
The agreement allowed the case to proceed to sentencing without a full trial on the original murder charge.
During the sentencing hearing, the prosecution, led by Counsel Judith Koech, asked the court to impose a tough prison term, arguing that the circumstances surrounding the killing called for a deterrent punishment.
The prosecution pointed to the manner in which the elderly man was attacked, noting that he was asleep when his son struck him with a panga.
Koech also presented a victim impact statement to inform the court of the suffering experienced by the deceased's family following his death.
According to the ODPP, the statement detailed the emotional and psychological trauma that the family had endured following the loss of their relative.
The prosecution urged the court to take into account the effects of the killing on the surviving family members when determining the appropriate sentence.
After considering the circumstances of the case and the prosecution's submissions, Justice Ng’arng'ar handed Kerich a 30-year prison sentence.
The punishment followed the prosecution's call for a deterrent term, with the court imposing a lengthy custodial sentence despite the initial murder charge having been reduced to manslaughter through plea bargaining.
The case highlights the use of plea-bargaining agreements in criminal proceedings, where an accused person admits responsibility for a lesser offence, allowing the court to proceed to sentencing based on the agreement.
For Kerich, the agreement resulted in a manslaughter conviction instead of the original murder charge, but he will still spend three decades behind bars for the killing of his 74-year-old father in Bomet County.