Kenya Beauty Queen Ruth Kamande Gets Death Sentence For Stabbing Boyfriend 25 Times

A 24-year-old beauty queen from Kenya has been awarded death for murdering her boyfriend. Ruth Kamande was given capital punishment for stabbing her boyfriend 25 times in a fit of rage. She killed her boyfriend, Farid Mohammed, in 2015 and was convicted earlier this year in May. The incident garnered sharp criticisms from human rights groups who called the punishment "inhumane".

While passing the sentence on Thursday, High Court judge Jessie Lesiit said, "I want young people to know that it is not cool to kill your boyfriend or girlfriend even where you feel disappointed or frustrated -- don't do it. Instead, it is cool to walk away and thereafter to forgive.

According to an AFP report, Lesiit, the judge said, "I think passing any other sentence than the one prescribed (death) would turn the accused into a hero." The victim's family had demanded maximum punishment for the crime.

However, Rights group Amnesty International called the sentence "cruel, inhumane and outdated". The report quoted Amnesty director Irungu Houghton as saying, "This sentence is a blow to Kenya's progressive record in commuting death sentences to terms of imprisonment." Kamande's lawyer Joyner Okonjo said that she would appeal the sentence.

Kenya has a ban on carrying out death sentences and since 1987 no death row prisoner has been executed. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Kenya's Supreme Court ruled in December 2017 that the mandatory death sentence for murder and armed robbery was unconstitutional.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 21, 2018 12:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).