Thousands of inmates who have been relying on the Muruatetu case to get lesser sentences have been dealt a blow after the Supreme Court ruled they cannot ride on that judgment any longer. Chief Justice Martha Koome who read directions on the matter on behalf of her six colleagues of the apex court on Tuesday said the Muruatetu case cannot be applied to any other cases except murder cases. In her inaugural sitting since being appointed as Chief Justice, Justice Koome said the Muruatetu judgment has brought a lot of confusion in its application and the directions they were issuing would help give guidelines on how it will be applied. In the Muruatetu case, the Supreme Court in 2017 declared the mandatory sentence unconstitutional for the offence of murder. They only nullified the mandatory nature meaning the judges have the discretion to determine whether they will sentence the accused to death or not.

Source: The Star July 06, 2021 09:00 UTC