A man convicted of killing his father following a land dispute has been sentenced to 15 years in prison by the High Court in Kabarnet, Baringo County.
Samuel Kibet Cherutich was sentenced by Justice Mumbua T. Matheka after pleading guilty to manslaughter following a plea-bargaining agreement that reduced his initial murder charge.
Kibet had initially been charged with murder contrary to Section 203 as read with Section 204 of the Penal Code but later entered into a plea-bargaining agreement on June 9, 2026, admitting to manslaughter under Section 202 as read with Section 205 of the law.
The court heard that the incident occurred on September 5, 2020, at around 2pm in Turtur village, Kabutie Location, Baringo North Sub-County.
According to evidence presented by the prosecution, Kibet killed his father, Reuben Chemwetich Cherutich, after the deceased warned him against entering his land.
The court heard that Kibet became angry following the warning, retrieved a bow and arrow and shot his father in the chest, killing him.
During sentencing, Justice Matheka acknowledged that the offender had been forgiven by his family but said the forgiveness did not diminish the seriousness of the offence.
“The manner in which he committed the offence, the reason for the commission of the offence is unacceptable. The mere fact that his father was telling him not to enter his land was no reason for him to go look for a weapon, a lethal weapon at that and shoot his father point blank,” the judge said.
The judge added that Kibet could have sought the intervention of village elders or pursued other means of resolving the land dispute instead of resorting to violence.
The prosecution was led by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Claire Kosgei and prosecution counsel Sidney Koech.
