The Supreme Court of Kenya has dismissed an appeal filed by Ruth Wanjiku Kamande, also known as Miss Lang’ata Prison, upholding her conviction for the 2015 murder of her boyfriend, Farid Mohamed Halim.
Kamande had previously lost her case at the Court of Appeal and moved to the Supreme Court seeking a review, arguing that the doctrine of Battered Woman Syndrome should be considered as part of her self-defence claim.
However, the Supreme Court ruled that the issue had not been raised during the High Court trial or at the Court of Appeal and, therefore, could not be introduced for the first time at the Supreme Court level.
The five-judge bench, which included Chief Justice Martha Koome, Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, and Justices Mohamed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala, and Njoki Ndung’u, found the appeal to lack merit.
Kamande argued that both the High Court and the Court of Appeal failed to fully assess the defence of self-defence she had advanced and that the prosecution had not conclusively rebutted the elements of that defence, which she argued should have led to a reduced charge of manslaughter.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), however, opposed the appeal, stating that the grounds raised had not been presented in earlier proceedings. According to the prosecution, no evidence of Battered Woman Syndrome was submitted during the trial, nor was any medical proof provided to support the claim of ongoing abuse.
Additionally, the prosecution highlighted that Kamande had delivered an unsworn statement during the trial, which meant her version of events could not be tested through cross-examination.
The Supreme Court concluded that Kamande’s narrative did not align with the legal requirements for self-defence. The evidence suggested a typical romantic relationship rather than one characterized by long-standing violence or abuse. The Court found no indication of sustained or severe violence and observed that the fatal incident appeared to have occurred solely on the day in question.
The bench also noted that while the doctrine of Battered Woman Syndrome is recognized in legal contexts, it was not introduced at any stage of the trial or appeal and only surfaced during the application for certification to the Supreme Court.
As a result, the Supreme Court affirmed the decisions of the lower courts, bringing Kamande’s final attempt to overturn her conviction to a close.