Wheelchair-Bound Nairobi Man Confesses to Killing Fellow Homeless Person
A 59-year-old man appeared before a Nairobi court and pleaded guilty to manslaughter after admitting he killed another street dweller during a confrontation in December 2025.
Joseph Ochieng, who lives with a disability and is also known as Kamduru, entered the plea at Milimani Law Courts. He was charged under Section 202 of the Penal Code, as read with Section 205.
The court heard that the incident took place on the night of 5 December 2025 along Gaberone Road in Nairobi. Ochieng said he had been asleep in his wheelchair, covered with a cloth, when he was struck on the head by a man carrying a piece of wood.
He told the court he feared for his life, managed to take the weapon, and struck the attacker in response. According to his account, the man fell, hit his head on the road surface, and died at the scene.
Ochieng said he later realised the man, whom he described as a fellow street dweller, was bleeding and unresponsive. Police officers on patrol found the body and arrested Ochieng nearby. Attempts to identify the deceased through fingerprint records at the National Registration Bureau were unsuccessful, and the victim remains unidentified.
In mitigation, Ochieng asked the court for leniency, saying that he is unmarried, has no known family, and lives on the streets. Trial magistrate Geoffrey Onsaringo convicted him on his own plea and ordered the preparation of a pre-sentencing report. Ochieng has been remanded in custody until 29 April 2026, when the court is expected to deliver its sentence.
