One day in prison was tge sentence for a 49-year-old Kenyan woman who confessed to killing her husband on December 15, 2020.
On March 9, Truphena Ndonga Aswani was sentenced to one day in jail, after she had confessed to killing her husband. She was released the next day.
A ruling made by Judge Roselyne Aburili of the High Court in Siaya revealed that the accused, Truphena Aswani, had endured pain in the hands of her husband who was not only violent but oftenly threatened to kill her.
She mentioned that Aswani required counselling from the traumatic experience that she had gone through in her marriage. The judge argued that despite her husband’s HIV positive status, the accused had stayed and cared for him.
“The ruling will enable others who have suffered similar fate to have their voices heard,” she declared.
The deceased, James Oyengo Obochi, is said to have parted ways with other two wives as he was a violent man.
The court heard that after the two wives had left their kids with the deceased, his children have been under the care of Aswani. On the day Obochi died, the court was informed that he came home drunk and was very angry. He commanded his wife to give him the title deed of a piece of land that she had been given by his late father.
When she refused, the deceased went to his bedroom, came back with a panga which he threatened to use on her. However in self defense, she told the court that she took the weapon and cut him many times.
“It is true that I killed the deceased but I did not intend to,” she confessed.
She then dug a hole at a neighbour’s farm and covered the deceased with grass.
The court was also informed that Aswani had been admitted to the hospital previously following a domestic assault at the hands of her husband.
While delivering the ruling, Abrili mentioned that Aswani endured domestic violence. She instructed the probation officer to make sure that she received counselling to help her deal with the past trauma.
THE WOMAN SPEAKS
The 49-year-old woman has accepted the court’s decision to God’s miracle mentioning that she had never imagined such a verdict could be made.
“I don’t know what to say. God has literally walked me out of a lion’s jaws,” Aswani said.
Aswani’s expectation of the ruling shocked her as she expected to be handed life imprisonment for manslaughter.
