South Eastern Kenya University Law Review Journal

Abstract

The principle of proportionality in sentencing demands that punishment corresponds to both the gravity of the offence and the moral culpability of the offender. In Kenya, this principle has gained renewed constitutional significance following the landmark Supreme Court decision in Francis Karioko Muruatetu & Another v Republic [2017] eKLR, which declared the mandatory death sentence in murder cases unconstitutional. Despite this jurisprudential milestone, the practical application of proportionality in capital sentencing remains inconsistent and underdeveloped. Post-Muruatetu decisions reveal a lack of uniform standards for assessing aggravating and mitigating factors, leading to disparities in sentencing outcomes across similar cases.