By KENAN MIRUKA
A teacher has been imprisoned for ten years by a Gucha court for attempting to help his 15-year-old student procure abortion.
Melkizedek Nyakwara committed the offence on June 5, 2009, at Nyabitunwa sub-location in Kenyenya, Kisii County.
He was charged jointly with others not before court for trying to cause a miscarriage by inserting a sharp pointed instrument into the private parts of the student.
The accused denied the charge before former Ogembo Senior Resident Magistrate Richard Koech, prompting a full hearing.
The complainant narrated to the court how she met the accused in 2008 as one of her teachers and started a relationship.
School holidays
She thereafter became pregnant. When she informed the accused of the development, he gave her Sh1,000 with which to procure an abortion during school holidays but she didn’t.
On the said date, the accused asked her to meet him at a local trading centre where he introduced her to a stranger.
The stranger, carrying a bucket of water and a sack, directed her to a building under construction where he inserted a sharp instrument into her private parts.
After the ordeal, the stranger gave her cotton wool to wipe herself and return to school. She hid in the school toilets and later went home. Her parents noted the problem and rushed her to hospital.
Complainant defiled
A clinical officer, who testified in the case, said the complainant delivered an eight-month-old baby boy.
In his ruling, Koech said the complainant was defiled and the union consummated albeit against the law.
"Due to negligence, police didn’t prefer a charge of defilement, which they would have ascertained through a paternity test on the accused. The prosecution has proved its case as per set standards," he ruled.
In mitigation, the accused maintained he was innocent and demanded a DNA test. He prayed for leniency saying he was an orphan.
"The offence is serious and deserves a deterrent sentence. The accused risked the life of the minor and the unborn baby. As a teacher, he was in a position of trust, which he abused," ruled magistrate.
