Minor Jailed Over Killing 3 Siblings & Cousin
Minor Jailed Over Killing 3 Siblings & Cousin
Minor Jailed Over Killing 3 Siblings & Cousin
A 16-year-old girl was recently given a 10-year prison sentence by the High Court in Kiambu for the murder of her cousin.The judge reaffirmed in the decision, which was released by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP), that the minor known as BW was found guilty of the crime.
On August 16 of last year, BW was accused of killing her cousin MK. The prosecution stated that MK was a toddler who was one year and eight months old. The prosecution persuaded the court in its submission that the minor had suffocated her relative before plunging her into a borehole.
The offender, who had reached the age of majority at eighteen, was ordered by the judge to serve the first two years of her sentence at a borstal facility and the remaining eight years at Langata Women Prison. An excerpt from the ODPP’s announcement said, “In agreeing with the prosecution, the Hon. Judge noted that a custodial sentence was deserving of the subject who killed her innocent cousin.”
In addition, BW was charged with killing her three brothers before killing her cousin. The cause of the siblings’ deaths is being looked into. Should BW be found guilty, a more severe punishment might be imposed. Meahwile is a borstal facility where criminals between the ages of 15 and 21 are housed while receiving remedial instruction prior to being sent to jail. According to the Borstals Institution Act, the Ministry of Interior is responsible for providing the prisoners with food, clothing, bedding, and adequate sanitary preparations as well as water.
It further states that a court must weigh all available information regarding a young offender’s character, past behavior, and the specifics of the offense when determining how to sentence him. Additionally, the court must decide if sending the offender to a borstal institution for a period of training would be beneficial to his rehabilitation.
Four borstal facilities in Kenya offer counseling, formal technical training, and spiritual programs to help juvenile offenders get back on their feet. The four are Kamiti Youth Corrective Training Center, Kamae Girls Borstal (both an extension of Kamiti Maximum Prison), Shikusa Borstal (Kakamega), and Shimo la Tewa Borstal (Shanzu).
