Timber dealer repeatedly rapes his 9 year old daughter

Francis Njeru Kobuthi at the Court of Appeal in Nyeri on May 13, 2015. He had been convicted of defiling his nine-year-old daughter in Embu in 2009. [PHOTO: DENNIS MBAE/STANDARD]

Disturbingly, even parents who should jealously protect their daughters from paedophiles and any form of molestation sometimes turn into the proverbial hyena that feasted on its children.

The case of Francis Njeru Kobuthi who repeatedly defiled his nine-year-old step-daughter after separating with her mother is a sad one.

Mr Njeru, who was in the timber business, is said to have committed the offence between March 1, 2006 and April 12, 2007 at his home in Nduru, Kanja sub-location, Embu East sub-county.

He was charged with defilement. Four people testified in the case including the minor.

It emerged that after the mother left, she left the minor and her three siblings under the care of their father, who proceeded to defile her in their one-roomed house where they all slept in the same bed.

In March 2007, a community health worker and colleagues visited the home and found the family living in deplorable conditions where children were jigger-infested and malnourished.

They advised Njeru to have a separate bed for the children and to feed them, but he said he didn't have the money.

In another visit, the worker realised the girl had difficulty walking. "On inquiring, the girl cried and upon prodding her further she narrated that her father had defiled her three times," testified the worker.

The worker informed the area chief who arranged for a medical examination and the medic confirmed that the girl had a broken hymen and bruises on her genitalia. Njeru was arrested on April 17, 2007 and was later found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.