The Nyeri High Court has sentenced 35-year-old Nicholas Julius Macharia to death for the defilement, murder and concealment of the body of seven-year-old Tamara Blessing Kabura.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Kizito Magare termed the offence premeditated and carried out with complete disregard for human life.
The judge observed that Macharia showed no remorse during the proceedings and said the sentence was intended to serve as a firm deterrent against grave crimes targeting children.
Macharia pleaded guilty to the charges, admitting to offences committed in May 2025. Court records indicate that after defiling the minor, he killed her and concealed her body in a shallow grave beneath his bed in Witemere slums in Nyeri town.
The child’s disappearance had triggered a search that culminated in the discovery of her body. The case sparked widespread public outrage and renewed concerns over child protection and gender-based violence in the country.
Macharia changed his plea during the proceedings, effectively shortening what could have been a lengthy trial.
Although the death penalty remains provided for under Kenyan law for capital offences such as murder, executions have not been carried out for decades, with many sentences later commuted to life imprisonment.
In this case, however, the court imposed the maximum penalty, citing the aggravated circumstances involving a minor.
Macharia has 30 days to file an appeal against both conviction and sentence should he choose to do so.
