Alexander Karue, 35, was found guilty of killing Doris Thogori for calling him Kihii - Kikuyu for uncircumcised.
The court was told that he committed the act in the presence of their two children on October 26, 2015, at Kiambiriria, Nyeri county.
Nanyuki resident magistrate Mary Kasango, while passing the sentence, described the action by the accused as heinous.
She said the crime subjected the young children to psychological torture.
During the hearing, one the children testified against his father while the younger one was overcome with emotions prompting the court to discontinue the testimony.
After killing his wife, Karue told the deceased's sister that he killed her for calling him as stated.
The court heard that on a material day, the couple was sleeping in the bedroom when a quarrel erupted.
Karue then picked a knife and slit his wife's throat.
The children who were asleep in an adjacent room rushed to the room and found their father holding the knife he used in the crime.
But in his defence, the man told the court that his wife fell down and was accidentally injured by a kitchen knife she was holding.
However, Kasango dismissed the argument saying a report presented by a pathologist indicated that the fatal injuries inflicted on her were not accidental.
"The accused is hereby sentenced to death as the law provides," Kasango said.
-The Star|ELIUD WAITHAKA