As the country continues with the 16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence, three people among them a grandmother have been sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment each, or pay a fine of Sh200,000 after they pleaded guilty to practicing female genital mutilation.
The grandmother, appeared before Iten senior resident magistrate Emily Kigen.
They were charged that on November 13 at Talal village in Marakwet East subcounty, they carried out the illegal act against her granddaughter, 19.
The other two co-accused faced the charge of not reporting the crime despite witnessing it.
The prosecutor, Felix Namasaka told the court that on the material day, one of the neighbours reported to the village elder about the incident who in turn mobilised residents to rescue the girl.
However, by the time the residents reached the home they found that the girl had already been mutilated. They reported the incident to the police and the trio were arrested.
The three pleaded guilty to the charge and in mitigation appealed for leniency from the court saying they will not repeat the offence pledging to be ambassadors in the fight against FGM.
The court sentenced them to 12 months or a fine of Sh200,000 each. They were unable to raise the fine and were taken to prison.
They have 14 days to appeal against the sentence.
