Man sentenced to life imprisonment for defilement

Kabarnet, Tuesday June 6, 2023

KNA by Caroline Cherono

A Kabarnet court has sentenced to life imprisonment a 45- year -old man found guilty of defiling an eight-year-old girl.

Stephen Kemboi who appeared before Resident Magistrate Edwin Mulochi, Tuesday is said to have committed the heinous offence on January 25 2022 at around 4pm at Tebei village in Baringo South Sub County.

Kemboi had been charged with two counts of defilement contrary to section 8(1) as read with section 8(2) of the Sexual Offences Act No. 3 of 2006 with an alternative charge of committing indecent act with a girl contrary to section 11 of the Sexual Offences Act of 2006 and also without lawful excuse uttered words threatening to kill the father of the minor with a panga, an offence that he denied.

He told the court that the probation report was biased against him as it stated that the community termed him unfit to get a non-custodial sentence which he had prayed the court to grant him.

The father of the minor who witnessed the culprit committing the heinous act told the court that he came home at 4pm after work and asked his wife where his daughter was and was informed that Kemboi who was a neighbor had called her to give her mangoes.

The mother of the minor informed him that the minor had overstayed for an hour prompting him to go looking for her at the culprits’ home where he found the culprit in a maize store with his daughter lying on the ground and when he questioned him the culprit strangled him while threatening to kill him with a panga.

During the confrontation the minor got an opportunity to escape and ran back home and explained the ordeal to her mother while on the other hand when the culprit entered a different room to look for a panga, the father of the minor got an opportunity to escape to the thicket while the culprit chased after him.

The victim in her statement to the court said that after she arrived from school that day the offender who is a neighbour called her to give her mangoes and after giving her three mangoes she then told her to enter the maize store and lie down where he commited the heinous acts.

She further stated that it was the third time the offender had defiled her.

The mother of the minor said after her daughter escaped from the maize store, she explained to her that she had been defiled by a well-known person and was injured which prompted her to go to the nearest police station where they were advised to visit a health facility urgently for treatment.

 “I received a report from my daughter that she had been defiled by one Kemboi and upon examining her she had injuries and stomach was swollen and I immediately took her to Tedei Health Centre where she was examined by a doctor,” she said.

The mother stated that the child was referred to Baringo County referral hospital for specialized treatment before reporting the matter to the police.

The doctor who presented a medical report to court confirmed that the girl was indeed defiled and had developed fistula.

Mulochi in his ruling said that by the fact that she is a child of a very tender age, the culprit according to the sexual offence act will face a stiff penalty.

“The law does not allow a non-custodial sentence given the gravity of the offense which involved a vulnerable person and it is not the first time. In addition, according to the probation report the offender takes advantage of weak and vulnerable children and women in the society,” Mulochi said.

He went ahead to sentence the accused to life imprisonment and gave him 14-days right of appeal.

Courtesy ; K. N. A