Dj Vnyash
Lilian Biwott, a former police constable from Eldoret Central Police Station, was sentenced to 35 years in prison on Tuesday, December 17, for the 2023 murder of her husband, Victor Kipchumba.
Biwott had been convicted the previous week for shooting Kipchumba 12 times with her service weapon at their rented home.
While delivering the sentence, Eldoret High Court Judge Reuben Nyakundi condemned the murder as an act of extreme cruelty. He called it “barbaric, diabolic, cruel and degrading” for Biwott to use the firearm, issued to her for crime prevention, to kill her husband.
Justice Nyakundi emphasized that the 35-year sentence should serve as a warning to others who use their positions to threaten their partners in abusive relationships. Despite the couple’s history of domestic violence, the judge noted that Biwott, as a trained police officer, had other ways to handle the situation.
Biwott had claimed she went to the house thinking her husband was threatening to kill their children, but the judge dismissed this claim, stating she had many other options besides shooting him. He described the murder as premeditated, with Biwott having time to reconsider her actions before returning home, and dismissed her self-defense argument, pointing out her attempt to conceal evidence afterward.
“This was a purely premeditated murder, driven by brutality, malice, and ill will,” Justice Nyakundi stated.
He also expressed concern for the couple’s children, asking how Biwott would explain her actions to them in the future. Of the 12 shots fired at Kipchumba on October 9, 2023, six hit vital organs, killing him instantly.
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