Mombasa County woman representative Zamzam Mohammed
on Friday / BRIAN OTIENO
Rights activists in Mombasa have joined calls by woman representative Zamzam Mohamed to have penalties imposed on child molesters reviewed.
Led by Muhuri’s Francis Auma, they said cases of defilement are rising due to lenient bail terms and fines.
“The other day, we saw our able county woman representative call for the review of fines on defilers. We support this, but it should start from Parliament,” he said.
On Friday, Mohamed called for deterrent fines and bail or life sentences for child molesters.
Her remarks follow a case where a Mombasa football coach was charged last Tuesday with defiling one of his players aged 12.
“The sad thing is that our courts are letting us down. Someone facing such serious allegations should not be left free, but the court released him on a Sh500,000 bond,” Mohamed said.
She spoke during the National Assembly and Judiciary joint retreat in Mombasa, which was attended by Chief Justice Martha Koome.
“I would like the CJ to put herself in the shoes of the boy’s mother. How would she react to that and then see the suspect walking free after paying Sh500,000 only?” Mohamed asked.
The MP said the child is likely to undergo trauma and stigma, and seeing the accused person out on bond could worsen the situation.
In a separate case, a two-year-old boy was also reportedly defiled by a neighbour.
Mohamed said lack of proper
facilities to preserve crucial evidence have weakened prosecutions and denied victims justice.
Koome said underfunding is a major stumbling block in delivery of justice.
The CJ said plans are underway to establish magistrates’ courts in all 290 constituencies, but budgetary constraints have slowed progress. So far, only 143 constituencies have such courts.
“The Judiciary requires enhanced allocations for infrastructure development. This will ensure equitable access to justice across the country,” Koome said.
Judicial officers said they are bound by existing laws. One magistrate, who sought anonymity, said Parliament must review legal provisions if harsher fines and bail terms are to be introduced.
“We can only give a certain amount as bail or fine to the maximum. If it was up to us, we would even be calling for harsher penalties. But we are guided by the law, which stipulates what minimum and maximum bail or fines we can impose,” the magistrate said.
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula said Parliament has adopted a collaborative approach with the Judiciary and will support it through enhanced budgetary allocations.
He urged the Judiciary to centralise cases filed against Parliament in Nairobi to cut costs and ease responses by Parliament’s legal team.
“Currently, our lawyers are forced to travel to upcountry courts, only to find magistrates on leave or transferred along with files,” Wetang’ula said.
