Man sentenced to four death penalties for killing family members

The High Court in Kisumu has sentenced a man to four death penalties after he pleaded guilty to four counts of murder. Thirty-year-old Shem Akuku Otieno hacked to death his wife, son and two other relatives in 2024 at Milenye Village in Muhoroni before surrendering to police and confessing to the killings. While delivering the sentence, Justice Joe Omido ruled that although the Supreme Court declared the mandatory death sentence unconstitutional, the circumstances of the case warranted the death penalty. The judge said the accused's apology did not match the gravity of the offence, noting that the killings had left the community traumatised. Shem Akuku has been granted 14 days to appeal the court's decision.