A woman who had been serving a 20-year prison term for killing her husband by pouring hot water on him has been freed after the Court of Appeal reviewed her sentence. The court found that the trial judge had failed to consider the history of domestic violence in the couple’s relationship.
The case arose from a 2017 incident in Khalumani, Bungoma County, where the woman’s husband, Francis Wanyonyi Wesusia, was severely burned and later died from third-degree burns. Witnesses recalled hearing the man’s cries for help before finding him outside his home with peeling skin. Before his death, he reportedly identified his wife, Moureen Nafula, as the person who poured hot water on him while he slept.
During the initial trial, the couple’s daughter testified that she saw her mother boil water and pour it on her father. The High Court found this and other witness testimonies credible, ruling that the act was deliberate and done with malice aforethought. Consequently, Nafula was convicted of murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2019.
In her defence, Nafula maintained that the incident was accidental. She claimed her husband, who appeared intoxicated, attacked her after returning home with another woman. During the scuffle, he allegedly fell into boiling water. Her legal team argued that the trial court ignored her claims of domestic abuse and failed to consider the psychological effects of long-term violence, often referred to as battered woman syndrome.
While the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction, it noted that the trial court had not adequately weighed the impact of domestic abuse on the accused’s actions. The judges recognized that although battered woman syndrome is not an official defence in Kenya, it can serve as a mitigating factor in sentencing.
The appellate judges also considered the years Nafula had already spent in custody and her lack of previous criminal record. They concluded that she had served sufficient time, reducing her sentence to the term already completed.
As a result, the court ordered her immediate release, marking a significant moment in Kenya’s judicial recognition of the effects of domestic violence on criminal behaviour. The ruling emphasized the need for courts to consider the psychological state and history of abuse of defendants in similar cases.
