By HAROLD AYODO
Dear Harold,
I got divorced six years ago then got married to another man. I have one child with this man, and a 19-year-old from my first marriage. I was recently dumbfounded when my daughter confided in me that my husband makes sexual advances at her. I am petrified that my husband can have a relationship with my teenage daughter. Is the law strict on incest?
Margaret, Nairobi
Dear Margaret
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The law is strict on cases of incest — sexual intercourse among close relatives. Men who have intercourse with their daughter, grand-daughter, sister, mother, niece, aunt or grandmother could be jailed for more than ten years, according to the Sexual Offences Act. The penalty is life in jail if the victim is below 18 years old — irrespective of whether they consented to the intercourse or not. Even attempting to have intercourse with a relative amounts to attempted incest that attracts more than ten years imprisonment.
Recently, Nicasio Mbogoh, who is in his 40s, was arraigned in an Embu court for allegedly defiling his 13-year-old daughter. Resident Magistrate Robert Oanda heard that the girl’s mother — who is the main eyewitness — caught her husband in the act. A Naivasha court also imprisoned for life, a father who impregnated his 16-year-old daughter after months of sexual abuse. The court termed as beastly the act by David Maina, adding that he had abused the trust and responsibility he had over his daughter. The court noted that the effects of the abuse on the daughter and her newborn baby would live with them for the rest of their lives.
Got a family related legal issue? Ask the lawyer on hayodo@standardmedia.co.ke
