The quiet night of June 19, 2011, turned into a nightmare for Kimani Ikua of Murang’a County when he returned home from Ndakaini Trading Centre.
Little did he know that this would be the last time he would set foot inside his own house.
That night, a sinister plot unfolded, leaving a family shattered and a community in shock.
At 10 pm, Kimani walked home to his wife, Margaret Wangui Kimani, who lovingly served him supper in the living room before retiring to bed.
However, moments later, tragedy struck.
Kimani was found lying on his belly, with a fatal wound at the back of his head, and his body engulfed in flames.
The heartbreaking scene was discovered by the couple’s daughter, who awoke to the horrifying sight of her father in flames and her mother screaming.
Distressed, she alerted her siblings, aged 12 and six at the time, and together they witnessed the devastating aftermath of a crime that would scar them for life.
A neighbor, responding to Wangui’s desperate plea for help, arrived at the scene and found Kimani on fire, also noticing the wound on his head.
The police were informed, and an investigation began.
On June 20, 2011, Wangui made a shocking confession to the arresting officer and a chief inspector.
She admitted to conspiring with Henry Muturi Mwangi to have her husband murdered for a sum of Sh100,000.
The plan was for Mwangi to kill Kimani, and she would pay him after the act.
According to Wangui’s confession, on the day of the crime, she heard her husband’s cries from the living room.
Upon investigating, she found him lying down while Mwangi held a metal bar, ready to commit the heinous act.
Both Wangui and Mwangi were apprehended and brought to trial.
The post-mortem examination revealed that Kimani died from multiple traumatic injuries on his head, neck, and abdomen, leading to cardio-respiratory arrest.
The trial court, after hearing from eight witnesses, found the evidence presented by the prosecution to be beyond reasonable doubt.
As a result, Wangui was sentenced to death for the murder of her husband on October 4, 2016.
In an attempt to appeal her sentencing, Wangui argued that the punishment was too severe, considering she was a first-time offender and had already spent ten years in prison.
The state, however, opposed the appeal, emphasizing the brutality of the murder and the trauma inflicted upon the children present during the crime.
The Court of Appeal, after careful consideration, decided to quash the death sentence and impose a 35-year sentence, starting from July 12, 2011, when Wangui was charged and remanded in custody.
The judges recognized the gravity of the premeditated crime, comparing it to a storyline better suited for movies than real life.
