A man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing his elderly employer in Yatta, Machakos County, six years ago.

David Mutuku Ndemwa was convicted of murdering Martha Mbele Thambu after the High Court found that he was the last person known to have been with her before she was strangled in her bedroom.

In a strongly worded sentence on August 12, 2026, a month after he convicted Ndemwa, Justice Rhoda Rutto painted a grim picture of the final moments of Martha Mbele Thambu.

“The deceased was an elderly woman approximately eighty years of age. Rather than being protected and cared for during her advanced years, she was violently deprived of her life,” the judge said.

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The court found that Ndemwa killed the elderly woman on August 6, 2020, before covering her body with a blanket and fleeing the scene.

Justice Rutto described the killing as “senseless and wholly unjustified”, noting that the victim was particularly vulnerable because of her age, while the accused was younger and physically stronger.

“The nature of the attack, the vulnerability of the deceased, the manner in which the offence was committed, and the conduct of the accused immediately thereafter constitute significant aggravating factors,” she said.

The judge added that the elderly woman “undoubtedly suffered a painful and undignified death.”

“The totality of the circumstantial evidence forms a complete chain pointing irresistibly to the accused person and no one else,” the judge ruled.

Ms Thambu was killed on the night of August 6, 2020, at Maseweni Village in Yatta Sub-County.

She operated a cereal business and lived at a homestead where Ndemwa worked as her shamba boy and herder.

He was the only employee at the home and lived within the same compound.

On the evening of the killing, witnesses saw Ndemwa with Ms Thambu at her shop before the two walked home together.

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Ndemwa admitted during the trial that he had spent the evening with her.

The following morning, Ms Thambu was found dead in her bedroom, her body lying on a bed and covered with a blanket.

A post-mortem examination established that she had died from manual strangulation. The pathologist found extensive injuries around her neck, including damaged tissues and ruptured blood vessels.

When relatives and neighbours went looking for Ndemwa, he had vanished. His house was locked, and his clothes and personal belongings were gone.

For nearly a year, investigators could not trace him. Then came the breakthrough in February 2021 when relatives of Ms Thambu happened to see Ndemwa at Kitui Level 5 Hospital. Police were alerted, and he was arrested.

Justice Rutto said his disappearance was significant evidence against him.

“The disappearance of the accused immediately after the death of the deceased is a significant circumstance,” she said.

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The judge also noted that Ndemwa did not voluntarily return to face the investigation.

“His resurfacing after this long period was not even voluntarily on the part of the accused. It was by sheer coincidence when he was stumbled upon by deceased family members,” she said.

Ndemwa denied killing his employer, claiming that four unknown men confronted him and Ms Thambu as they approached their home on the night of the murder.

He said the men attacked and abducted him, took his belongings and later abandoned him.

The court rejected the account, finding that Ndemwa did not report the alleged attack to police and produced no medical records or independent evidence to support it.

The judge also questioned why the alleged attackers would abduct him while leaving Ms Thambu behind to be killed.

“The court finds this explanation implausible and unsupported by any independent evidence,” Justice Rutto ruled.

The court found that Ndemwa was the last person known to have been with Ms Thambu, lived within the same compound and disappeared immediately after her death.

The judge said the circumstances formed an unbroken chain pointing to him.

On the manner of the killing, Justice Rutto said strangulation could not have been accidental.

“Strangulation is not an accidental act. It involves deliberate application of force to the neck sufficient to obstruct breathing and blood circulation,” she said.

At sentencing, Ndemwa pleaded for leniency, saying he was remorseful, had reformed while in custody and was the sole breadwinner for his family.

He also said his elderly parents depended on him.

Justice Rutto noted that he was a first offender and considered his prospects of rehabilitation.

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But she found that these factors were outweighed by the seriousness of the killing.

“While an apology was tendered, remorse must be assessed from the totality of the offender’s conduct and demeanour before the court,” she said.

The judge described Ms Thambu as an elderly and vulnerable woman who was killed by a younger and physically stronger man.

“The deceased was an elderly woman approximately eighty years of age. Rather than being protected and cared for during her advanced years, she was violently deprived of her life,” she said.

Justice Rutto described the killing as “senseless and wholly unjustified”.

She said the sentence should send a warning against violence targeting elderly and vulnerable people.

“The court must send a clear message that violence directed against vulnerable members of society, particularly elderly persons, attracts serious penal consequences,” she said.

Ndemwa will serve 30 years in prison, with the period he has already spent in custody deducted from the sentence.

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bmatheka@ke.nationmedia.com