JUDGMENT
The appellant was convicted of the murder of Christopher Wanyama on 6th July, 1988, at Nakhwabuya village, Central Kabras location in Kakamega district and sentenced to death.
The prosecution’s case was that the appellant persuaded the deceased, his relative and a boy aged 7 years old, to accompany him into a nearby forest at about 3.00 pm on the material day. A few hours later, the appellant returned without him and denied knowledge of his whereabouts. An extensive search for him was in vain until about two weeks afterwards when a skeleton was found on a river bank. The deceased’s mother, Dorcas Chikamai (PW3) identified a piece of cloth found near the skeleton as belonging to him.
A post-mortem performed by Dr Jason Kaviti (PW2) could not reveal the cause of death due to the advanced state of decomposition and because the majority of the organs were missing from the bony skeleton.
The case against the appellant depended entirely on a confession under charge and caution he is al…