Kisumu Man Sentenced to Death for Killing Four
Justice Joe Omido handed down the sentence after convicting Akuku on four counts of murder linked to the February 2024 killings that shocked residents of Milenya Village.
Photo: Courtesy.
By Sonia Mitchel
A Kisumu High Court has sentenced 30-year-old Shem Akuku Otieno, alias Daddy, to death after he pleaded guilty to murdering his wife, young son and two other relatives in Muhoroni, Kisumu County.
Justice Joe Omido handed down the sentence after convicting Akuku on four counts of murder linked to the February 2024 killings that shocked residents of Milenya Village.
The court heard that Akuku killed his five-months-pregnant wife, his seven-year-old son, his elderly uncle and another relative or neighbour during the attack on February 24, 2024.
According to court records, the victims suffered fatal injuries inflicted with a sharp weapon. The killings left families and residents in the area devastated, with the case attracting widespread attention because of the number of victims and their close relationship with the accused.
Akuku later surrendered to police and confessed to the killings. His admission of responsibility during court proceedings resulted in convictions on all four murder charges after the court accepted his guilty plea.
The prosecution told the court that the killings were deliberate and premeditated. It further pointed to the fact that the victims included members of Akuku’s immediate and extended family, among them a pregnant woman and a young child.
The circumstances surrounding the murders formed a key part of the court’s consideration before sentencing.
While delivering the judgment, Justice Omido addressed the legal position surrounding capital punishment in Kenya. The judge noted that although the Supreme Court has declared the mandatory death sentence unconstitutional, courts retain discretion to impose the death penalty in appropriate cases.
Justice Omido found the circumstances surrounding the four killings exceptionally grave and ruled that they warranted the ultimate punishment.
Akuku was subsequently sentenced to death on each of the four murder counts.
The sentence brings an end to a case that began with a brutal attack in Muhoroni and left several families mourning. The killing of a pregnant woman and a child in the same incident heightened concern among residents and sparked questions about what could have driven the accused to attack his relatives.
The case has also renewed public discussion about the death penalty in Kenya. While some people support capital punishment for particularly serious crimes, others continue to question whether it should remain part of the country’s justice system.
Kenya has retained the death penalty in law, although executions have not been carried out for many years. Courts can still issue death sentences in cases involving serious offences, subject to the constitutional and legal safeguards governing sentencing.
For the families of the victims, the court’s decision marks a significant stage in the search for justice following the deaths.
Akuku’s case now stands among the most serious family homicide cases to come before the Kisumu High Court in recent years, following an attack that claimed four lives within a single incident.
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