A man who defiled, murdered and buried a seven-year-old girl in his house in Witemere slums
in Nyeri county in May 2025, has been sentenced to death.
The High Court in Nyeri has ruled that although the convict, Nicholas Julius Macharia, had pleaded guilty to the charge of murder, the plea was not useful for the case against him.
Justice Kizito Magare observed that the defilement and subsequent murder of the Grade One learner, Tamara Blessing Kabura, had been planned, premeditated and carried out meticulously by Macharia.
Similarly, Justice Kizito observed that whereas Macharia had even gone ahead to issue an apology to the victim’s family, his demeanour during the testimony by the victim’s mother Susan Wanjiru, showed a disturbing lack of empathy and narcissistic tendencies as he could be seen smiling and staring in the air.
The Judge said that although Macharia had pleaded for leniency, the manner in which he executed the offence suggested a troubling readiness to repeat similar actions if afforded the opportunity further arguing that the gravity of the offence had left the court with no other choice but to prescribe the most severe punishment in accordance with the law.
“When I was looking at the guidelines, I was actually finding more on which were not applicable because you fell into most of the guidelines showing that you need to get a more severe sentence than otherwise. The probation report was filed where interviewees recommended severe sentence,” stated the judge.
“I looked at all the factors and the court was left with no choice. One of them was that the victim was a child of tender years, secondly you were known and trusted by the victim, thirdly it was in furtherance of gender violence and lastly there was sexual violence,” noted Justice Kizito adding Macharia was deserving of punishment commensurate to the violence he meted out.
The seven-year-old girl went missing on May 24, 2025 from the Nyeri open air market where her mother operates as a trader.
After a two-day search, a tip-off from a trader confirming to have seen the victim in the company of the convict, as well as Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) footage from a car spare parts shop showing the convict walking with the victim to his home in the informal settlement, led to Macharia’s arrest.
It was then that he led detectives to his house where they discovered the victim’s lifeless body, buried under his bed.
On May 29, a day prior to the victim’s postmortem at the Nyeri County Referral hospital morgue, Macharia recorded a confession with detectives giving a detailed account of how he strangled the minor to death and watched her die in excruciating pain.
Justice Kizito observed that the convict had breached the minor’s trust and subjected her
to inhumane and unusual treatment. He described the defilement and murder as “macabre in the most macabre sense” adding that the sexual violence meted out on her was disproportionate to her age.
“The pain suffered by the minor cannot be fathomable. It is beyond human understanding. The offence was aggravated by unnecessary use of sexual violence,” he said.
“One of the things I noted is that the minor haemorrhaged and you did not care. I was not there but reading your confession on what the victim, a minor, went through is almost like an excerpt from a horror movie,” added Justice Kizito.
And while noting that describing Macharia as a beast would be a gross understatement, Justice Kizito said that the victim had been degraded by not only being violently defiled but also by being buried in a shallow grave without a coffin, an indecent burial inside a house to remain as an unmarked grave.
He said that Macharia’s attempt to blame the devil for the offence, his efforts to hide the evidence by burying the minor in his house and his decision to continue residing in the same house which he had converted to a cemetery had demonstrated a disturbing level of moral depravity, further aggravating the offence.
“The most disturbing thing in the confession was that you wanted to blame the devil. The court is unable to discern any role played by the devil. The law does not recognize blame to supernatural powers. In this instance, the devil is innocent,” Justice Kizito pointed out.
While sentencing Macharia to death, Justice Kizito also noted that femicide was on the rise in the country due to the perception that murder is a safer offence compared to sexual offences which attract a life sentence.
He said that by disregarding human life, the convict had chosen a path of destruction and was deserving of the death penalty. He noted that the sentence would denounce Macharia’s conduct in the strongest terms and serve as a deterrent measure.
“In view of the circumstances and having considered the law and the objectives of sentencing, the court finds that the ultimate penalty remains available and applicable,” said Justice Kizito.
“Therefore, accordingly, I find that you are hereby sentenced to death. A death warrants shall be transmitted to the competent authority for signing and carrying out of the sentence after 30-day stay of execution,” he ruled.
The decision paves the way for the Director of Public Prosecution to determine whether or not to charge Macharia with defilement. The offence carries a life sentence.
The convict now has 14 days to appeal the court’s decision.
by Wangari Mwangi
