Man sentenced to 20 years for killing his girlfriend in Baringo
Courts
By
Yvonne Chepkwony
| Oct 07, 2025
A 45-year-old man in Baringo has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for slitting the throat of his girlfriend six years ago.
The Kabarnet High Court judge, Rachel Ngetich, sentenced Musa Chesire for killing Rhoda Cherono at Iliakat Centre, Tenges Location in Baringo Central on October 14, 2018.
The court convicted Chesire on circumstantial evidence after he confessed to villagers to slitting the throat of his girlfriend and produced a machete he used.
“He is the one who led the members of the public and the chief to where he had hidden the murder weapon after confessing that he had killed the deceased,” the court noted.
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The judge observed that even though Chesire confessed after being beaten, the recovery of the murder weapon is incompatible with his innocence.
"From the foregoing, I find that there is overwhelming circumstantial evidence linking the accused to the death of the deceased,” the judge said.
Gibson Rono testified that on October 14, 2018, at 3:50 p.m., while on his way to Iliakat centre, he met Musa Mosop on the farm, who requested him to take his grandchild to the mother(Cherono) at the Centre.
He went with the child to the centre, and as they approached, he saw a person lying on the ground.
“I was about 5 meters from her. I saw blood on her dress, and I took the child away after learning she was her mother. When I reached home, I called Musa and informed him what had happened,” he said.
Joseph Lelei testified that he learned about her daughter’s death from his neighbours, who came to his house.
Initially, he said, his daughter(Cherono) had left for the centre where she owned a kiosk.
After learning about the death, he accompanied the neighbours to where the lifeless body of his daughter was and saw that her neck had been chopped.
His daughter, he said, had keys in her hands and the door of her kiosk was locked, but the windows were open.
The area chief held a baraza for two consecutive days to inquire of anyone with an idea of the killer, but in all meetings, Chesire was missing.
A search began, and Chesire was found hiding in a bush. He was arrested and interrogated, where he confessed to killing her.
Chesire led the villagers to where he hid the weapon.
Postmortem report revealed that Cherono died due to sharp force trauma following an assault.
Investigating officer James Muchiri testified that, together with other officers, they visited the crime scene and found the body lying in a pool of blood outside a shop.
The woman, he said, had a visible deep cut on her neck, lying in a pool of blood. He took photos and collected the body for the morgue.
They later arrested Chesire on October 18, 2018, and recovered the weapon.
In his defence, the Chesire denied killing the woman, refuting the claims that they were in a relationship.
Chesire claimed to have been coerced into confessing to the killing.
The presentencing report presented in court indicated that Cherono’s family is bitter following her death, as she was the sole breadwinner.
Chesire’s family urged the court not to release him, claiming his life was in danger.
“According to the brother, none of the family members has ever visited him in prison for fear of retaliation by the victim's family. Due to the current harsh environment, the victim's family members are very bitter with Chesire,” read the report.
Justice Ngetich observed that a life was lost in a fairly senseless manner, noting Chesire’s unremorseful conduct.
She further explained that Chesire deserved custodial sentencing to allow him to reflect on his actions, which he still denies.
“Also to give persons affected to heal and also feel that justice has been served by punishing the offender. I am therefore inclined to impose 20 years imprisonment,” the court ruled.