A 22-year-old man has been sentenced to four years’ imprisonment by a principal magistrate court in Kabarnet for clobbering his mother over food, knocking down one tooth.
The helpless mother is said to have been hit with a stick, loosening another tooth before being strangled by the accused, who was demanding food.
Kanyakera Kalupi was charged that on November 29, 2025, at around 7pm, at Ches village in Tiaty West Sub-county, Baringo County, he assaulted Maria Kibelo, occasioning her grievous bodily harm.
He was charged with grievous harm contrary to Section 234 of the Penal Code, and he pleaded not guilty before Senior Principal Magistrate (SPM) Purity Koskey.
The complainant told the court that on the material day at the said time, she was at her goat pen when the accused came home and went straight to the kitchen, where he demanded food from his sister.
She stated that when she asked him to settle down, he slapped her, hit her with a stick, and strangled her.
In the course of the attack, Kibelo narrated to the court that she lost a tooth while the other teeth got loose and that she had suffered greatly in the hands of the nuisance son.
The traumatized mother said after the incident she reported the matter at Nginyang Police Station before seeking treatment at Nginyang Health Centre.
Kelvin Kiplagat, working at the health facility, in his sworn testimony told the court that he examined the victim on November 30 and that she had been injured on her teeth and right hand and had one tooth missing.
Kiplagat, in his medical report, classified the degree of the injury as grievous harm.
Investigating Officer Barrack Odhiambo of Nginyang Police Station told the court that on November 30, a report was made by the victim to the effect that she had been assaulted by the accused, who is her son, and seriously injured.
The officer stated that the complainant availed herself of a tooth she had lost, which he produced as an exhibit in court.
Mr. Odhiambo, in the case where four witnesses were lined up, said that the accused was hunted down and arrested by National Police Reservists (NPR) and taken to Nginyang Police Station.
In his defense, Kalupi told the court that his uncle identified as Long’una incited his mother to report him to the police, further claiming the uncle framed him over his sister’s dowry.
“Upon considering the totality of the evidence presented and the foregoing analysis, I find the evidence presented is sufficient to sustain a conviction for the charge of grievous harm against the accused,” stated Koskey.
In her ruling, the senior principal magistrate stated that the prosecution was able to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt and found him guilty of the charge of grievous harm and, accordingly, convicted him under section 215 of the criminal procedure code.
In mitigation, Kalupi claimed that he used to help his grandfather and nephew at home when his mother was away and that he had suffered while he was in custody and prayed to the court for leniency.
Passing sentence, SPM Koskey restated that to deter such cases, which she said were generally on the rise, there was a need to award the accused a custodial jail term and went ahead to hand him four years in prison.
She stated that the time served in custody is to be computed in the sentence and that the convict has 14 days’ right of appeal if not pleased with the judgement.
By Dennis Lesoite and Joshua Kibet
