Kenya's Court of Appeal learnt that a judge had illegally...

Kenya's Court of Appeal learnt that a judge had illegally sentenced a 16-year-old hired assassin to death. Justices RSC Omolo, PK Tunoi and Aaron Ringera established that the assassin, Charles Mathenge Mwangi, who was to be paid Sh 80,000 to kill a mother and her three children, had not attained the mandatory age of 18 at the time of the crime. Under the Kenyan Constitution, a person who is not yet 18 years cannot be sentenced to death. If found guilty of a capital offence, the suspect is detained under presidential pleasure, and only the Head of State can reprieve them. The appellate judges were further shocked to learn that Mwangi had died on August 20, 2002 at the Kamiti Maximum security prison while undergoing treatment.