A Kajiado court has sentenced a middle‑aged man to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of defiling an 11‑year‑old boy.
The ruling, delivered on January 5 by Principal Magistrate Kachuodho, concluded that the accused lured the minor to his home in 2022 under false pretences before committing the offence. In her judgment, the magistrate described the crime as grave and deserving of the maximum punishment prescribed by law.
According to the child’s testimony, the offender isolated, threatened, and subjected him to sexual abuse. The prosecution, led by Linda Nzioka, presented five witnesses whose accounts the court found consistent and credible. The evidence proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt, leading to a conviction that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) hailed as a significant step in protecting children and holding perpetrators of sexual violence accountable.
The conviction and sentence were anchored in the Sexual Offences Act No. 3 of 2006, which defines defilement as any act involving penetration with a person under the age of 18. Section 8 of the Act sets mandatory minimum penalties based on the victim’s age, stipulating a life sentence in cases involving children aged 11 and below.
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Other provisions of the Act include Section 9, which addresses attempted defilement, and Section 11, which covers indecent acts with a child where penetration is not proven. Courts are also guided by complementary laws in handling such cases. Section 124 of the Evidence Act allows a conviction to be secured solely on the testimony of a child victim if the court is satisfied of its truthfulness and records its reasons, even without medical corroboration.
Additionally, the Children Act of 2021 defines a child as any person under 18 and outlines child‑friendly procedures during trial, ensuring that justice processes remain sensitive to minors.
By Masaki Enock
