Woman convicted of murder freed after 13 years

If granted permission Jesca Osimbo, 28, could pluck 2009 from the calendar for causing events that culminated in her 20 years' sentence. She was busy taking care of house chores as a househelp in Mumias when a child under her care fell into a manhole and passed on.

Like everyone else, she says, she did not know where the child had disappeared until a frantic search ended with the discovery of the six-year-old boy’s body in the manhole.

She was pointed out as a prime suspect by police who arrested and charged her with murder. The High Court in Kakamega would later sentence her to 20 years in the same year, a term that came to a close on Friday last week thanks to a remission at the Kakamega Women's Prison.

“It's unbelievable that the sad tales of the year 2009 have come to an end. I have been to Langata Prison, Kisumu, and Kakamega where it's all ending. It's a bittersweet experience for me,” she says with a smile lighting up her dark complexion.

“At times it looks like the other day but in real time I have spent some 13 years behind bars. I was just 15 years old when I was sentenced but I am now a grown woman almost hitting my 30s having spent the better part of my productive years behind bars,” she said.

Osimbo acquired her KCPE certificate in prison. She also learned embroidery in prison.

The ninth born in a family of 10, she first wants to acclimatize with the outside world, visit some of her old friends and relatives, and officially attend the funeral of her old kin like her father who died while she was in prison.

“I wish I had an opportunity to attend his burial in real time but fate took its cause, I will now be forced to attend it in the course of the month, see his grave, and mourn him properly,” she says. “After that, I will think of what to do next, probably get into tailoring or other businesses.”

Lucky for her, the Kakamega Women's Prison welfare team had already visited her home in Khwisero Constituency to prepare them for her release and ensure all was well for her life outside prison rehabilitation.

A religious organization, Freedom Evangelical Ministry, has already offered to find her a sewing machine. The ministry handed over personal effects to her as soon as she was released from prison.