• The magistrate noted that the accused person Defence held no water, and that the prosecution case was strongly proved.
• The court heard that the accused person committed the offence alongside others who were not before the court.
Image: CLAUSE MASIKA
A violent robber who raped a university student, stole her laptop and cash has been sentenced to death.
David Odhiambo was found guilty and sentenced by Senior Principal Magistrate Phillip Mutua, who noted that the crime was barbaric and cruel.
“ The victim suffered a lot and was even traumatised, if at all the accused person wanted to steal from her, there was no need to rape her together with others, beat her up and even torture her,” Mutua said.
Mutua said Odhiambo's defence was weak and observed that the prosecution had proved its case.
“ The offence was proved, and the accused person was well identified. The court has considered his mitigation and he is therefore sentenced to death, he has 14 days to appeal,” the magistrate noted.
The verdict came after prosecutor Violet Ombati called witnesses who testified in the case before she closed her file.
Odhiambo and his accomplices waylaid the student on the night of October 27 and 28 at Highrise Railways Line, Lang'ata.
In the course of the heartless attack, he stole Apple iPad from the victim.
The convict had put up a spirited defence and even told the court the crime had been fabricated by the student.
A probation report presented to the court indicated Odhiambo was remorseless.
The student, in the course of the hearings, said she was walking on Mbagathi Way from KMTC, Kenyatta Stage, when she reached the footbridge, she was attacked by Odhiambo who was in a group of other men.
She said she was lifted off the ground and loaded onto an immobile train near the footbridge.
“ When I reached the footbridge, I was attacked by two men who carried me towards the train bridge. I started screaming for help and they blocked my mouth with a cloth,” she told the court.
She told the court that the two men including the accused took her Sh28,000 laptop, Samsung phone (Sh25,000) a diary, her wallet that contains an identification card, mutual insurance card and an ATM card.
They also made calls to her contacts and demanded cash.
“They started using my phone to call people demanding that they send them money or else they would find my dead body the following day, they also forced me to give them my Mpesa pin which I gave them the wrong pin,” she the court.
“They then turned violent, stripped me naked and the accused person and others started to rape me, one of them used a plastic material as a condom. I lied to them that I was HIV positive, but one of them went ahead and raped me,” she narrated to the court.
One of the accused persons had a gun, and a second one, who had a knife, threatened to kill me and also, I was forced to suck their manhood.
“One of them forced me to suck his manhood, and it was during that act that some money was sent to their phones, and they set me free,” she told the court.
One of the suspects escorted her and helped her cross the road because she faced the prospect of being raped again.
She told the court that she went direct to the Forces Memorial Hospital gate and explained her to the KDF soldiers manning the gate her ordeal.
From the soldiers, she learnt that the bridge was a rape hot spot.