JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
The appellant was charged before Senior Resident Magistrate Marsabit with the offence of robbery with violence contrary to section 296(2) of the Penal Code. He pleaded guilty to the charge and upon conviction he was sentenced to death.
The particulars of the charge stated in part that:-
“........... while armed with a dangerous weapon namely a knife robbed MEDINA RAMATA of two sheep valued Kshs.1,200/= and at or immediately before or after the time of such robbery killed the said MEDINA RAMATA”.
The record shows that the charge was read over to the appellant in Borana language by a court clerk named Ibrahim. The facts stated by the prosecutor were very brief, the essential ones being that:-
“On 15th October, 1998 at Dambala Urgo Manyatta the deceased was grazing her father’s animals. The accused approached her and stole two sheep and a leso. As the complainant was struggling she was knifed by the accused and also hit her with a stone killing her. He went away with the…