Court Gives Directive To Man Accused Of Killing Stepson

Sebastian Matundura, a 61-year-old, has appeared at the Kisii Law Courts over allegations of killing his stepson, a 30-year-old.

It is alleged that on Sunday, January 8 at Igonga Location, Matundura hacked to death his stepson, Peter Bogecho, 31 while fighting. He surrendered himself at Gesonso police station the following day.

Matundura appeared before senior resident Magistrate Paul Mutai under a miscellaneous application.

Sebastian Matundura appeared before Kisii Law Court on January 11, 2023, over allegations of killing his stepson. /VIRALTEAKE.ELIZABETH ANGIRA

Prosecution counsel Job Mwati on his application told the court to grant them seven days to complete investigations following the affidavit sworn in by the investigation officer handling the case.

He added that Matundura should undergo a mental assessment and witnesses to record a statement. On his mitigation, he agreed to be detained at the Gesonso police station.

The Court stated that having considered the prosecutor's application, it has allowed the accused person to be detained at Gesonso Police station as officers carry out investigations. The case was set for mention on Thursday, January 19.

Confirming the incident, Kisii South OCPD Charles Machinji urged the public to solve issues amicably, calling upon the public to always report grievances and illegal acts committed against them instead of taking the law into their own hands.

He pointed out that there have been a few cases of people taking the law into their hands and warned that anyone who does so risks being punished by law regardless of committing the offence against a suspect or a wrongdoer.

"Taking the law in your hands can lead to victimising an innocent person or sometimes lead to violence and body harm where assault and mob justice are involved, this is why we urge you to always report any misunderstanding to the authorities,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) South West Nyanza Branch Chairman Gideon Nyambati on Tuesday, January 10 called for speedy investigations into the murder incidents that have been on the rise in Kisii as well as Nyamira counties.

Nyambati noted that there were 92 murder cases pending at the High Court in Kisii but only one judge has been assigned to handle them.

"As a society, we condemn and call upon the police that whenever they are called they should respond.

"92 murder cases cannot be handled by one judge, that is a very big number, the church, the community, and other stakeholders should reach out to members of the public on matters of mental health," he remarked.

Nyambati expressed that the judge was overwhelmed with the piling of the cases and asked Chief Justice Martha Koome to intervene by adding at least two more judges to make work easier.