A court in Kithimani has handed down a death sentence to a man convicted of violently assaulting and robbing an 80-year-old woman in Machakos County.

Josephat Mutuku Kasyema received the capital punishment after being found guilty of attacking Agnes Njeri Kilonzo, the mother of former Member of Parliament Charles Kilonzo, in a crime that left the elderly victim with severe injuries.

According to evidence presented before the court, Kasyema violently assaulted the elderly woman during a robbery at her residence on December 8, 2023, in the Ndarani area of Yatta Sub-County.

During the attack, the convict made away with the victim’s Samsung Galaxy J2 mobile phone worth Ksh.15,000 and an undisclosed sum of money.

He inflicted a deep wound to her head using a machete and restrained her with ropes before fleeing the scene. The elderly woman was later found and rescued by neighbors.

In delivering the sentence, the court described the assault as brutal and callous. The judges noted that the severity of the attack resulted in devastating consequences for the victim, who lost her ability to speak as a result of the trauma.

The prosecution team, comprising Fred Nderitu, Lydia Wang’ombe, and James Gachoka, argued the case, leading to the conviction and subsequent death sentence.