Shortage of magistrates has delayed Homa Bay defilement case - Senate committee

Shortage of magistrates has delayed the conclusion of a case where a 9-year-old girl was defiled and impregnated in Suba South constituency.

The Senate Justice, Legal Affairs &Human Rights Committee said the case has not been concluded due to the shortage of magistrates at Mbita Law Courts, where the case was listed.

The girl was impregnated four years ago in Kigoto in Suba South constituency.

During a fact-finding mission at the court, the committee realised that the case was dragging and the girl’s mother was being intimidated to subvert justice.

According to Nominated Senator Catherine Muma, who received the complaint from the whistleblower, the girl was defiled in 2021.

After the defilement, the suspect was arrested and arraigned in the Mbita Law Court.

“The challenge has been that the case has not been concluded since 2021 to date due to a shortage of magistrates in Mbita Law Court to handle the matter,” Muma said.

Addressing the media after their meeting at the court, Muma said they are concerned that the mother of the girl is now being intimidated.

Muma said she had to present the matter before the Senate for the committee to find out the truth in the whistleblower’s information.

“I received the information from an anonymous whistleblower. Since the whistleblower did not reveal their identity, we decided to visit this court to find out the authenticity of the information,” Muma said.

She said they spoke to all stakeholders involved in the case and discovered that the information given by the whistleblower was true.

“We have spoken to the girl’s parents, the judicial officials and the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and discovered that the whistleblower gave accurate information,” she said.

Muma said the situation needed close attention by putting systemic measures by both the State and Homa Bay government on how to prevent similar cases in future.

The committee chairman, Hillary Sigei, said their findings revealed that the case has been delayed due to systemic issues.

He said the key among them is the shortage of magistrates.

“Mbita court has one magistrate, but there are many cases to be handled by the magistrate in time. Many courts have similar challenges, hence we are going to make recommendations for addressing them,” Sigei said.

Sigei, who was also accompanied by Makueni Senator Daniel Maanzo, said they had established that the matter was still active in the court.

He said the girl had delivered successfully and is currently in a safe space.

“The girl is now 13 years old, and she is being accommodated in a safe space as the case continues. We are hopeful that our recommendations will save the situation for justice to prevail,” Sigei said.