NAIROBI – The Kenya Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal filed in 2015 by Ruth Wangjik Kamande, commonly known as Miss Langata, who was convicted of the murder of her boyfriend Farid Mohamed Halim.
Following the rejection of the appeal by the Court of Appeal, Kamandeh moved to the Supreme Court to urge them to consider the applicability of the doctrine of abused women’s syndrome as part of their self-defense defense.
However, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal on the ground that the issue of women’s syndrome, which was abused during trial in the High Court or the Court of Appeal, was not raised.
The court held that legal issues that had not been addressed previously in lower courts could not be introduced at the Supreme Court level.
Kamande’s appeal was based on the claim that a learned judge from the Court of Appeals had erred in the law by failing to consider and apply the doctrine of abused women’s syndrome when assessing whether her actions could be reconciled with self-defense.
She also argued that both the High Court and the Court of Appeals could not fully appreciate the self-defense defense she had advanced, and that the prosecution had not conclusively rebutted the elements of that defense.
In response, the Director of the Prosecutor (ODPP) filed a reply affidavit claiming there was no merit in the appeal.
The DPP pointed out that the basis for the breeding had not been introduced in previous lawsuits. Specifically, there was no mention of abused women’s syndrome, nor was there medical evidence filed in court to demonstrate that Kamande had experienced long-term intimate partner violence.
Furthermore, the DPP pointed out that Kamande has chosen to issue a non-fusion statement.
Prosecutors, represented by Freda Mwanza and Magdalene Ngaliuka, further argued that while the doctrine of abused women’s syndrome can in some cases inform the defence of insanity and self-defense, the accused could bear the burden of proof of such defence.
They added that self-defense requires the defendant to recognize the imminent threat and demonstrate that he used reasonable forces in response to thresholds that the appellant did not meet. In that decision, the Supreme Court held that the appellant’s argument was contradictory. Kamande’s evidence was thought to be rather than characterised by years of abuse, but rather portraying a typical romantic relationship.
Sign up for the AllAfrica newsletter for free
Get the latest African news
success!
Almost finished…
You need to check your email address.
Follow the instructions in the email you sent to complete the process.
error!
There was a problem processing the submission. Please try again later.
The court noted that there was no history of persistent or serious violence, and the alleged altercation with the deceased appeared to have occurred only on the day of the incident.
The bench consists of Attorney General Martha Coomb, Deputy Judge Philomena Mwir, Justice Mohamed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjara and Nujoki Ndungu.
The judge further emphasized that despite being an established concept of legal doctrine since the 1970s, the doctrine of abused women’s syndrome was never explicitly or implicitly raised during the trial or appeal process.
He was raised for the first time in front of the Court of Appeals on an application for certification. The Supreme Court therefore held that the appeal was meritless and confirmed the lower court’s decision.
