Justice Nicholas Ombija sentenced 41 year-old Jackson Namunya Tali to death for committing the offense on July 27 2009/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 25 – A nurse has been sentenced to death by the High Court after he was found guilty of assisting a woman to procure an abortion that led to her death.
Justice Nicholas Ombija sentenced 41 year-old Jackson Namunya Tali to death for committing the offense on July 27 2009.
The convict was stationed at Kihara sub district hospital, in Gachie as a medical officer at the time.
According to evidence adduced in court, Christine Atieno who was apparently pregnant visited the clinic of the accused with the express intention of having her pregnancy terminated.
The convict procured an abortion which led to over bleeding and culminated into the patient’s death.
The convict did not deny he attended to the deceased and offered her some form of treatment but denied he procured an abortion.
In his defence he told the court that the deceased had been treated elsewhere eight days before she visited him for consultation.
“I was not responsible for the injury which led to over bleeding and subsequent death,’’ he told the court.
While convicting him, judge Ombjia said malice afore thought an ingredient to the offence of murder was established.
“Against the backdrop of evidence, as to who interfered with the fetus that led to over bleeding was a fact within the accused knowledge. Only he could explain how the deceased who visited his clinic while well and not bleeding happened to over bled culminating into her demise,” he ruled.
“The facts are inconsistent with the innocence of the accused and incapable explanation on any other hypothesis other than that of guilt,”
“I accordingly find and hold as a matter of law that the accused herein with malice afore thought caused the death of the deceased by assisting her to procure abortion. I convict him accordingly,” he added.
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