Albert Odhiambo Odongo was on Tuesday found guilty for killing his wife Eunice Atieno Olal in Homa Bay over Sh.8,000 diispute. He has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.
Prosecutor Valerie Ongeti informed the court that Odongo committed the offence at Kotieno village in Kasipul Constituency on June 7, 2015.
Odongo had been accused of killing the wife after disagreeing over the money. He accused the wife of stealing the cash. It was revealed that after the disagreement, Odongo left home for an alcohol den.
He later returned home with two men with whom he assaulted Eunice and killed her at the scene. One of the witnesses Evaline Akoth testified that Odongo and his group also assaulted her when she tried to defend Eunice.
“The following day, I was informed that Eunice had died,” Akoth said.
Ongeti told the court that Odongo lied to the police that his wife had been killed by unknown criminals.
“A report from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations indicates that Odongo lied to police yet they had killed his wife in the bedroom,” Ongeti said.
The case was later changed from murder to manslaughter after the court established that Odongo did not intend to kill his wife. Four witnesses testified in the case.
Odongo denied the charge before High Court judge Joseph Karanja in Homa Bay. The judge said the evidence adduced by the witnesses was adequate to prove that he committed the offence.
“You have been sentenced accordingly but you have 14 days to appeal,” Karanja said.
Odongo pleaded for leniency on grounds that he married another wife after Eunice’s death and the woman left him with children after they disagreed.
“I plead for leniency because I am the one who is taking care of my children because their mother disappeared after we disagreed,” Odongo said.
He was taken to Homa Bay Prison.