A 26-year-old woman has been sentenced to an eight-year jail term after she pleaded guilty to attempted murder and attempted suicide.
Kakamega Chief Magistrate Bildad Ochieng’ overlooked a probation report recommending that she be put on a non-custodial sentence to enable her undergo psychological counselling.
Halima Sheillah Bwakali pleaded guilty to the charge of attempted murder against her four-year-old son who escaped death by whisker after his mother forced her to ingest diaxonal poison. She is said to have committed the felonies on December 23, 2018 at their Kisa North home, Khwisero sub-county.
In his judgment yesterday, Magistrate Ochieng’ reminded the court that life is paramount and it is the duty of the court to protect the lives of citizens.
“Her attempt to kill the defenseless child as well as trying to commit suicide to escape the punishment should not be taken lightly. She was expected to show care for her child, but she turned out to be his tormentor. It is only by God’s grace that the child survived the poison.”
Halima also confessed to committing the crime of attempted suicide after a confrontation with her mother over her (Halima’s) drinking habit. On that fateful morning, she had engaged in a quarrel with her mother, Ruth Auma, who had ordered her to vacate her house over her alcoholic behaviour.