Ruth Kamande, the former beauty queen serving a death sentence for the 2015 murder of her lover, has been granted permission by the Court of Appeal to take her case to the Supreme Court after her initial appeal failed.
The Miss Lang’ata Women’s Prison beauty pageant winner received the court’s approval in a judgment issued on October 06, 2023.
The Court of Appeal serves as the final appellate avenue for individuals convicted of murder.
However, murder convicts may only approach the Supreme Court for a third appeal on matters of law, provided they have received approval from the appellate court.
In the case at hand, Kamande stabbed her boyfriend, Farid Mohamed Halim, 25 times in various parts of his body, causing his death in a matter of minutes.
The gruesome murder occurred while the two were living together in Buru Buru. It was the victim’s cries for help that alerted neighbors to the ongoing tragedy.
Witnesses who responded to the cries testified that they observed Halim clutching his abdomen and appearing to be in severe pain.
They immediately called the police from the Buruburu Police Station, who arrived to find that Halim had tragically succumbed to his injuries.
Unsuccessful appeals
A post-mortem examination revealed that he died from multiple injuries and blood loss due to penetrating force trauma.
Kamande had previously appealed her conviction and sentence, but her efforts were unsuccessful in November 2020.
However, in this latest attempt, she has gained the court’s permission to present her case before the Supreme Court.
Her primary grounds for appeal revolve around the battered women syndrome. Her lawyer, Githu Muigai, argues that individuals who claim self-defense in response to domestic violence should receive some legal consideration.
In her previous failed appeal, Muigai had asserted that Kamande killed her boyfriend in self-defense because she was allegedly a victim of domestic abuse. He had requested that she be convicted and sentenced on a lesser charge of manslaughter.
However, this argument did not succeed.
Battered women syndrome
In her current appeal, Muigai argues that “the intended appeal involves a matter of general public importance, namely the doctrine of battered women syndrome, and secondly, the standard and burden of proof applicable when an accused pleads self-defense.”
The submission further states: “These two issues transcend the circumstances of the particular case and will ideally have a significant bearing on the public interest to protect and advance the rights of domestic violence victims in line with the provisions of the Protection against Domestic Violence Act.”
Kamande also contends that the prosecution failed to rebut her claim of self-defense, and the court did not adequately consider it, even though it formed the foundation of her defense during the trial.
The prosecution did not oppose the application, stating that it was meritorious to escalate the case to the Supreme Court, where the issues raised could be thoroughly examined in the interest of the public.
Request to reduce charge to manslaughter
Kamande’s appeal seeks to explore the proposition that when a defense of self-defense is presented, and circumstantial evidence supports it, the accused should benefit from the law, resulting in an automatic reduction of the charge to manslaughter.
The Court of Appeal agreed with the application, recognizing that the issues raised could be novel matters of law deserving the Supreme Court’s attention.
The court noted that the concept of battered women syndrome had not been fully explored in Kenya, making its input in this uncharted territory a matter of public interest.
“We have looked at the issues that have been raised by the applicant and note that the issue surrounding battered women syndrome is ideally raw in the country and has had not so many decisions on the same. We feel the same be given a window for interrogation by the Supreme Court,” the three-judge bench stated.
“The upshot is that the notice of motion dated February 17, 2021 is merited and is hereby allowed.”
