A MAN who was jailed for life for stabbing to death his roommate in a frenzied attack last year has had his sentence slashed down to seven years behind bars.
The 25-year-old Cameroonian was found guilty of premeditated murder and attempted murder by the High Criminal Court in March this year, which sentenced him to 25 years in jail.
However, he lodged an appeal against the sentence at the Supreme Criminal Appeals Court which reduced his sentence.
Judges ruled that the defendant beat his victim to death, kicking out premeditated murder and attempted murder charges.
“If he intended to kill his victim he would have continued to stab him,” read the appeal ruling.
“He got into a fight with his victim over a dispute about a cup of water.
“They attacked each other and the defendant caused the victim’s death after stabbing him.
“He also did not intend to murder the others and the court does not trust the witnesses’ statements.
“The court finds seven years in jail to be sufficient.”
The defendant killed 26-year-old fellow national Sylvanus Sakwe Nanje, following a dispute at a labour camp last year.
He plunged a knife, which he had found on a bedroom floor, into the heart of the victim on May 18 at 3am.
He also attempted to kill a second roommate, also Cameroonian, who had two fingers severed before he managed to escape, according to court documents.
Defence lawyers previously claimed that the defendant was acting in self-defence, which both the courts ruled out.
The defendant will be deported after completing his sentence.
The incident happened on the second floor of the two-storey accommodation in Ma’ameer which reportedly housed around 50 expatriates.
A prosecution witness had earlier described the shocking moment when he witnessed the incident.
The survivor claimed the defendant planned to murder them following a dispute.
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