A High Court in Kisumu has sentenced a man to death for murdering his wife, seven-year-old son and two relatives in what the judge described as an exceptionally grave case.
Justice Joe Omido sentenced Shem Akuku Otieno, also known as Daddy, after he admitted killing the four family members in February 2024.
Otieno had initially denied four counts of murder before asking to change his plea. During the proceedings, he told the court he had killed all four victims and wished to plead guilty.
The court repeatedly warned him that murder carries the maximum penalty of death before accepting his plea.
The victims were his wife, 26-year-old Emily Adhiambo Akuku; their seven-year-old son, Joseph Ouma Akuku; his 74-year-old uncle, Thomas Odula Nyameche; and 56-year-old Mary Kuya Otieno.
They were killed on 24 February 2024 at Wagunga village in Nyang’oma Location, Muhoroni Sub-county, Kisumu County.
In sentencing, Justice Omido said he had considered mitigating factors, including that Otieno was a first offender, had pleaded guilty and expressed remorse, sparing the victims’ relatives a lengthy trial.
However, he ruled that those factors were outweighed by the seriousness of the offences.
“The accused did not take one life. He extinguished four lives during a single criminal episode,” the judge said.
The judge said the victims were close family members who had trusted the accused.
The court heard that Otieno killed his young son, despite having a duty to protect him, and murdered his wife in their home.
Justice Omido said the accused had lured his elderly uncle by falsely claiming that two relatives were fighting over land before attacking him. Mary Kuya Otieno, who was unwell and resting at home, was also tricked into leaving her house before she was killed.
The court also heard that Otieno attempted to attack another relative, his sister Monica Atieno, who escaped after he fell while chasing her.
After the killings, he hid the murder weapon in a sugarcane plantation before surrendering to police as members of the public reportedly sought to lynch him.
Victim impact statements said the killings had left the family devastated, causing lasting psychological trauma and financial hardship following the loss of key providers.
A pre-sentence report also found that the community remained deeply traumatised and that Otieno’s release would put him at risk because of public anger.
Justice Omido acknowledged the Supreme Court’s decision in the Francis Karioko Muruatetu case, which restored judicial discretion in murder sentencing, but said the death penalty remains lawful in exceptional cases.
He ruled that this case met that threshold because it involved multiple victims, deception, abuse of family trust and the targeting of vulnerable relatives.
“The offences were not the result of a momentary lapse involving a single victim. They involved the systematic killing of four persons at different locations,” the judge said.
Otieno was sentenced to death on all four counts. The court ordered that the sentences on the second, third and fourth counts remain in abeyance, in line with established practice in cases involving multiple capital convictions.
He was informed of his right to appeal within 14 days.
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