Court gavel
A Githunguri law court in Kiambu county has sentenced a former police officer to a prison term of 20 years for defilement.
Comrade Jacob Odhiambo, a former Administration Police sergeant attached to Mitahato AP Camp in Githunguri, Kiambu, was accused of defiling a 16-year-old Standard 8 pupil on April 14, 2019.
He faced an alternative charge of committing an indecent act with a child and a second charge of abuse of position of authority.
The former officer faced a third count of conspiracy to commit a felony jointly with his brother Dismus Mujibu.
The case was first investigated by officers from Githunguri police station and the two charged with gang raping the minor.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority then took over and fresh charges were preferred against them on October 26, 2021.
The girl was represented by advocate Janice Muchemi from the International Justice Mission Kenya.
The complainant told the court she was at her mother’s stall near Mitahato market when Odhiambo’s brother, Mujibu, arrived and bought charcoal.
The girl referred to him as ‘Mwalimu’ as he used to offer holiday tuition for her at her mother’s stall just metres away from the AP camp.
He then left and headed back to the AP camp, where he lived with his brother, shortly before Odhiambo showed up at the stall.
Odhiambo had handcuffs and told her mother he was just from a patrol.
She said she then decided to go to visit her grandmother, leaving Odhiambo at the stall where he was having a conversation with her mother.
But soon after, Odhiambo caught up with her just near the camp’s iron sheets gate and started convincing her to enter into the camp’s compound.
When she declined, he grabbed her and carried her to his house.
“The second accused person was at the house and is the one who opened the door. It was my first time in their house,” she said, explaining that it was two-roomed.
Odhiambo took her to the second room that had a bed, police uniform, a towel and a pile of dirty clothes, threatening to handcuff her if she ‘disturbed’ him.
The girl said Odhiambo proceeded to defile her and at some point left the room to pick a phone call, at which point his brother came in and found her standing behind the door.
“The second accused drew near to where I was standing and attempted to touch me but I pushed him away and he left.”
When Odhiambo came back, he took her to the sitting room and continued to defile her. The ordeal, she said, took about two hours, explaining that she thought he had a gun. He did not use protection.
He told her to leave and ordered her not to use the foot path that led to her mother’s stall, threatening to hurt her if she dared tell anyone what had occurred.
At around 7pm, the complainant went back to the stall and found Mujibu buying some githeri.
It was only until the following day that she confided in a friend, a caretaker in a neighbouring farm, that she had been defiled.
The friend then informed her mother, who stormed the AP camp where she informed the officer in charge what had transpired.
She was directed to Githunguri police post before being sent to Githunguri hospital, where the minor underwent a check-up.
Later, the complainant told principal magistrate Moses Wanjala that they were informed that the two officers had run away, with Odhiambo eventually surrendering to Githunguri police station on May 22, 2019, when he was arrested.
Hildah Wangare, a clinical officer at a health facility at the time, said the complainant had already taken a bath by the time she went for a medical check-up, but that her private parts presented with lacerations and a bloody discharge.
The medic placed the minor on drugs to prevent a pregnancy and HIV infection, and antibiotics.
During trial, the prosecution presented 18 exhibits, including a P3 form, the complainant’s birth certificate and photographs of the crime scene.
Mujibu on his part testified that he was an ex-NYS officer and that he stayed for two weeks with his brother at the AP camp during the April vacations.
He confirmed having visited the complainant’s mother’s stall and buying groceries on the material day, but added that he then left to a neighbouring school, where he played soccer all day.
He said after the vacation, he went back to Eldoret, where he was a college student and that he learnt about the case in 2021 from his brother, who was asking him to be his witness.
Mujibu denied that he taught the complainant and claimed not to interact with the complainant’s family as alleged.
On March 20 this year, the court convicted Odhiambo on the defilement charge but acquitted him on the rest of the charges, together with his brother.
“In totality, the prosecution did not provide sufficient evidence to conclude that there had been a conspiracy between the accused persons’ herein to defile the complainant,” the magistrate said.
