STARTING AFRESH

Ex-convict Wambua framed for incest given two acres by Kalembe

He was released from Kamiti after his case was quashed after new evidence emerged exonerating him

In Summary

• Wambua also received a cell phone and a motorcycle from well-wishers on Sunday in Machakos.

• He urged the government and the Judiciary to ensure rape and defilement cases are well-investigated before suspects are sentenced. 

Julius Wambua, the man who has been behind bars for the past eight years after his daughter framed him for rape, had a reason to smile after politician Kalembe Ndile gave him two acres of land.

The former Kibwezi MP said his company will cater for the construction of a new house in Kibwezi for Wambua and his family.

"We will try and build him a home so that he can start his life afresh because eight years in jail is no joke," he said.

He also vowed to employ Wambua's daughter Dorcas Mwende in one of his businesses.

Kalembe mobilised other well-wishers who donated households items, a motorcycle and a cell phone to Wambua in Machakos on Sunday.

The motorcycle was donated by Thomas Musau, a UK-based businessman who is also the secretary-general of Wiper chapter in the United Kingdom. Wambua thanked Ndile for the positive gesture.

He was serving a life sentence after he was convicted of incest eight years ago but was set free after new evidence emerged exonerating him.

In a judgement delivered by Justice George Odunga in Machakos, Wambua was allowed to walk to freedom after the court quashed the jail sentence meted on him on January 24, 2012 by a principal magistrate’s court in Kithimani.

He left the Kamiti Maximum Prison on Thursday afternoon and was met outside the gate by his daughter Dorcas.

There was an emotional moment as Wambua embraced his tearful daughter and her siblings.

He said he has forgiven her. Currently, the 56-year-old man stays at his younger brother's house in Nairobi.

Addressing the press in Machakos as he received the donations, Wambua said he would wish to start life afresh in a place away from his former homestead in Machakos.

While narrating his ordeal, the father of five noted that his wife sold his properties and fled to an unknown place.

"After I was released, I was confused because after being convicted eight years ago my wife sold everything and I was left bankrupt," he noted.

He added, "Circumstances have forced me to start life afresh. I am a free man, but I lost everything when I went to jail. I have no land or home".

Wambua said he forgave the wife a long time ago, arguing the mother of his children had no idea of what she was doing.

He, however, urged the government and the Judiciary to ensure rape and defilement cases are well investigated before the suspects are sentenced.

He argued that a lot of inmates were serving imprisonment for crimes they never committed.

"If these cases are not well probed you will find that by 2030, only 30 per cent of men will be left in society. The rest will be in prison due to rape and defilement allegations," he said.

"To be clear, I am not saying that people do not commit crimes, but only the law offenders should be punished and not the innocent ones."

Edited by Henry Makori

WATCH: The latest videos from the Star