December 7, 2000: It was circumcision season in Kaubao village, Meru County, and Kenneth Gikunda decided to visit his friend Mwiti who had undergone the rite of passage.

Unaware that his friendly gesture was taboo in the community since he had not undergone the circumcision rite, Gikunda found himself in trouble after a group of people forcibly took him and circumcised him at Thingithu River.

Upon learning of his son’s plight, Nkoroi rushed him to hospital where he was treated and discharged.

When they got home they found four men, among them Stephen Muthuri, Shadrack Mutembei and John Kirunji, waiting for them. Muthuri and Mutembei demanded Sh4,000 to take care of Gikunda or they would kill him.

Nkoroi would later testify that the men imposed themselves as Gikunda’s caretakers without his consent.

One week later on December 15, Gikunda was recuperating from his forced circumcision, under the care of Fredrick Muthaura and Mwaki M’meru when Kirunji passed by the home to check on the initiate. Once at the boy’s room, Kiruji sat on Gikunda’s legs, pressed a stick on his neck, head butted him then proceeded to kick him several times on the chest.

M’meru and Muthaura would later testify that when they attempted to stop him, Kirunji threatened them to keep off and that after he left, Gikunda said he was not feeling well and died as they prepared to take him to hospital.

A postmortem report showed that Gikunda died of internal bleeding in the chest cavity due to chest injury and Kirunji was immediately arrested and charged with murder.

In his defense, Kirunji insisted that all the caretakers had beaten Gikunda because he entered the house of a circumcised boy yet he himself was uncircumcised.

It also emerged in court that, under Meru customs, it is permitted for a newly circumcised boy to be disciplined by beating as a way of inducting him into manhood and Kirunji was merely exercising a disciplinary act recognised in his culture.

However, on April 26, 2007 Kirunji was convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

He immediately moved to the Court of Appeal to contest the court’s decision where appellate judges Roselyn Nambuye, Patrick Kiage and Fatuma Sichale examined the appeal and said Kirunji was aware of the consequences his assault would have on Gikunda.

“We find that from the nature of injuries sustained by the deceased, the appellant viciously assaulted him with the intention of causing at least grievous bodily harm,” The judgment read in part.

They dismissed his appeal and upheld the death sentence.