- The minor further revealed that Wafula committed the act while he held a knife onto her head in a move that intimidated her.
- She told the court that after the act, the accused left her in the bush and ran away.
Image: CLAUSE MASIKA
A masked man who used a knife to threaten a nine-year-old girl before defiling her in a bush has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Kibera court.
The court found out that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Court prosecutor Nancy Kerubo had called several witnesses who testified in the case.
Jessy Nyongesa Wafula had been charged with defiling PQ.
In the particulars, Wafula intentionally and unlawfully defiled the minor on July 27 in the Gathondeki area within Nairobi county.
Alternatively, Wafula was accused of committing an indecent act by touching the minor inappropriately.
The accused had initially denied the charges and had been released on bond.
While testifying in court, the girl said that the accused covered his face with a mask and defiled her.
“I recognised him because his left eye had a problem. He carried me to the bush and covered my mouth to stop me from screaming, before proceeding to remove my underpants. He made me lie on the ground and went ahead to defile me,” she disclosed.
The minor further revealed that Wafula committed the act while he held a knife onto her head in a move that intimidated her.
She told the court that after the act, the accused left her in the bush and ran away.
"A good Samaritan who heard me crying rescued me from the bush and took me to our home since I could not even walk properly," she told the court.
Once left at their gate, her father who heard her cry went to the bushy area near their gate and found her having been defiled.
The minor was taken to Nairobi Women’s Hospital where she was examined and treated before being transferred to Kenyatta National Hospital where the DNA samples were taken.
“I knew Wafula because he was our neighbour, but he moved out of the neighbourhood after the incident. My father never forced me to say he defiled me,” she said.
During cross-examination, Wafula claimed he was being fixed and that the landlord, who is the minor’s father, wanted Sh3,000 from him to end the case, adding that he was prosecuted because he failed to give the money.
The allegations by Wafula were rubbished by the minor’s father who assured the court that he could not have asked for money from the accused since he was being hosted by his sister and that his (landlord's) wife had asked him to forgive the accused as he was a staunch Christian but he opted to pursue the case.
The court further heard that Wafula attempted to flee in vain after he learned that the authorities had been involved.
He was arrested and taken to Kabete police station where he was interrogated before being presented in court.
During the defence hearing, Wafula said he was a student at a college in Nairobi and that on July 31 that year, he prepared his sister’s children to go to school before fetching water then went to the school.
The magistrate rubbished his defence and found that based on the evidence alluded in court, he committed the offence.
The magistrate convicted him to a life sentence after court prosecutor Kerubo told the court that the offence committed was serious and required a deterrent sentence. Boke gave him 14 days to appeal.
-Edited by SKanyara