Makueni woman accused of killing deranged husband put on probation
A woman who was accused of killing her mentally ill husband in Tawa, Makueni county, will remain under probation for one year before being released to be with her children.
Mary Mueni Muasya had been charged with murdering her husband Joseph Muasya, but the court convicted her of manslaughter after five years of hearing the case.
During her sentencing last week, the court placed her on probation for one year during which she will undergo counselling and therapy.
“In my view keeping the accused in custody will not only be detrimental to her but also to the welfare of her children and her ageing grandmother.
‘FORGIVE ACCUSED’
“If the parents of the deceased genuinely desire to be reunited with their grandchildren, it is my view that they ought to forgive the accused and welcome her back to the family as rejecting her is unlikely to yield the desired results. In fact, it may achieve quite the opposite.
“Having considered the circumstances of this case, I direct that the accused will be under probation for a period of one year during which period she will undergo counselling and therapy,” Justice George Odunga ordered.
Mueni was charged with killing her husband Muasya on the night of December 21, 2013. Her case was heard for five years, with 11 witnesses testifying against her including her son and in-laws.
The witnesses placed her at the scene, a three bedroom house where she had an altercation with her deceased husband over drinking money.
In her defense, Mueni told the court that she left her house after her late husband threatened to kill her and their children and went to her mother in-law’s house until morning when she came back to find her husband lying dead.
POSTMORTEM
Postmortem examination of the deceased’s body showed that he died as a result of a severe head injury and multiple cuts on his body and hands.
On November 26, 2018, Mueni’s charge was reduced from murder to manslaughter after what Justice Odunga said was the prosecution’s inability to prove malice aforethought in order for the charge of murder to be sustained.
She was acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter. She has now been sentenced to one year probation.
“She will forever to live with that psychological trauma that her children’s lack of a father arose from her own action for the rest of her life,” Justice Odunga said.