Appellate court upholds death sentence against man who killed his wife

The Court of Appeal has upheld the death sentence for a man convicted of killing his wife a decade ago, dismissing his claim that he was insane when he committed the murder.

Stephen Eleman killed his wife, Naomi Eleman, in 2015. He surrendered to the Gilgil Police Station, where he was arrested and detained.

On June 2, 2015, Eleman failed to take plea after a psychiatric report indicated he was unfit. The court then ordered that he be committed to Mathare Mental Hospital.

On February 10, 2016, he took plea after it was established he was fit to stand trial. On December 20, 2017, the High Court sentenced him to death for killing his wife.

Unsatisfied, Eleman moved to the Court of Appeal and challenged his conviction and sentence, claiming to have been insane when he committed the offence.

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He told Justices Mohamed Warsame, John Mativo, and Paul Gachoka that he found himself at Mathare Mental Hospital, where he learnt that he had killed his wife.

Eleman said that he loved his wife and could not understand what transpired before the killing and produced a medical report claiming to have been in Mathare Mental Hospital in 2015 and discharged in 2016.

The convict argued that he was insane when he committed the murder, questioning his sentence, which he said was harsh.

In the High Court, the man's nine-year-old son testified against him before Justice Christine Meoli, saying that his parents quarrelled often, and his father would beat his mother.
The persistent domestic wrangles forced the woman to take her children and relocate back home to live with her mother in Kikopey.

Eleman pursued them and pleaded with his wife to return to their matrimonial home.

A 17-year-old boy, then in the company of other students, said that on their way from school, he heard a lady screaming from a valley.

Naomi’s mother testified that she was a victim of domestic violence, forcing her to relocate to Kikopey in March 2015.

On the material day, she said, her daughter left for her hawking business with her husband but failed to return home, only to be told the next day that her body had been recovered.

The three judges noted that the trial court had addressed and demonstrated that the man was aware of all the happenings.

“His marriage was rocky and characterised by brutal violence meted out on the deceased by the appellant, including threats to kill her,” the judges said.
The judges observed that Eleman had visited his wife, requesting her to return home, in vain.

The court found that Eleman had not disputed the killing but failed to produce evidence of insanity before committing the murder.

On the death sentence, the court considered how the murder was executed, indicating that the death penalty was at the discretion of the court rather than mandatory.

“We note that the trial court considered the appellant's mitigation and how the offence was committed and the gravity of the offence. We find no reason to interfere with the death sentence imposed on the appellant,” the judges ruled.