In a judgement that marks the end of a nearly decade-long legal battle, the Supreme Court of Kenya on Friday dismissed the final appeal by Ruth Wanjiku Kamande infamously known as Miss Lang’ata Prison 2016sealing her fate and confirming her life sentence for the brutal 2015 murder of her boyfriend, Farid Mohamed Halim.
The country’s apex court declared on Friday that Kamande’s bid to overturn her conviction lacked merit, closing the last legal door in her pursuit of justice through the courts.
Kamande, who gained public attention after winning a beauty pageant behind bars while awaiting sentencing, was convicted of murder in 2018 after stabbing her boyfriend 25 times in what the High Court described as a “cruel and calculated attack.”
Her defence had claimed she acted in self-defence, and in her final appeal before the Supreme Court, Kamande sought to introduce the legal concept of Battered Woman Syndrome a psychological condition said to affect victims of prolonged domestic abuse. She argued that the courts had erred by not considering her experience as an abused woman, which she believed should have mitigated her sentence or even reduced the charge to manslaughter.
But the Supreme Court firmly rejected her arguments, pointing out that the theory of Battered Woman Syndrome had never been raised in the High Court or at the Court of Appeal, nor had any supporting medical or psychological evidence been presented during trial.
According to the judges, legal arguments must be consistently raised and substantiated in lower courts before they can be considered at the Supreme Court level.
“The doctrine of Battered Woman Syndrome cannot be introduced for the first time before this court,” the bench ruled.
“The evidence on record paints a picture of a romantic relationship, not one marred by sustained abuse.”
The five-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Martha Koome, Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, and Justices Mohamed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala, and Njoki Ndung’u concluded that Kamande’s narrative was inconsistent, with no indication of enduring violence that would have justified her actions as self-defence.
Further weakening her case was the decision to give an unsworn statement during her trial meaning the prosecution had no opportunity to challenge her version of events through cross-examination, a move the Supreme Court said undermined her credibility.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), in a swift reaction, hailed the ruling as a landmark win.
The DPP had argued that Kamande’s claims were an afterthought and that the brutality of the killing could not be justified under any legal doctrine.
“Self-defence must be proportionate and responsive to an imminent threat,” the DPP stated.
“There is nothing to suggest the force used—25 stab wounds—was either reasonable or necessary.”
Kamande’s only remaining hope now lies in the hands of the President, through a possible grant of clemency or pardon.
Without it, she will continue serving her life sentence at the Lang’ata Women’s Prison, where she has been since her conviction.
Once a symbol of beauty behind bars, Kamande’s legacy will now likely be remembered as a cautionary tale of justice served where public sympathy, legal ambition, and courtroom theatrics ultimately failed to sway the law.
