Police in Baringo North are pursuing a 60-year-old man who allegedly defiled a girl aged nine.
Subcounty police commander Fredrick Odinga said the suspect ran away from his home in Kabarsimotwo village in Ossen-Kabartonjo.
“I received the case in my office on Tuesday and the suspect is still at large” Odinga said.
The offender is the husband to the girl’s auntie, whom she lives with.
The Class 3 pupil disappeared on Thursday, causing anxiety in the village.
“It forced us to comb all the surrounding bushes until we found her lying down in a thicket around 200 metres from home. She looked weak and hungry,” a resident said.
Upon interrogation the girl said she survived purely on wild fruits and water for five days.
“I ran away from home because uncle did bad things to me and harassed me, so I feared he could beat me up,” she said.
She was rushed immediately to the county referral hospital.
"She is in stable condition but examination reveals her hymen has already been broken,” the doctor said in a report.
Early Childhood Development teacher said the girl revealed to her that the man defiled her on three different dates, the latest being on May 10.
“He dragged me to his bed, pulled down my clothes then gave me Sh5 coin and told me I should not tell anybody,” she said.
The girl said earlier last month, the man gave her Sh10 after defiling her at the house verandah, which was the second time.
The first time, he reportedly committed the act in the bush.
The suspect's wife said she never thought he could do "such evil things".
"If it is true, then I don’t have any control over it but let the law take its course,” she said.
School head teacher said since he joined the school last year, the girl has been healthy, jovial, disciplined and hardworking.
