Kakamega man sentenced to death for defiling daughter

On July 20, 2010, in a village in Kakamega County, Sandra (not her real name) and her young sister were playing outside their home when their father Kamande (not his real name) asked them to go to the shop.

He, however, asked 10-year-old Sandra to stay behind as her sister ran off to the shop. Kamande then called his young daughter to his bed and defiled her. He repeated the heinous act the following day and threatened to kill her if she ever told anyone about the incident. Kamande and Sandra’s mother had separated several months earlier and married another wife. Sandra and her sister lived with him.

Kamande continued defiling Sandra whenever the other children were asleep and sometimes in the morning after he returned from his night guard duties. Sandra was distraught and had nobody to turn to for help until August 7, 2010 when her maternal uncle came to visit the family and discovered what was happening to his niece.

He reported the incident to the local police station and took Sandra to hospital where it was confirmed that her hymen was missing and she confessed to being defiled by her father. Kamande was immediately arrested and arraigned in court where he was charged with defiling his daughter.

In defence, Kamande told the court that he did not understand the language of the court and required an interpreter yet one was not provided to him during trial. He also complained that the charge sheet was defective because the names referring to his daughter were not accurate. Kamande also said that there was no medical evidence produced to prove that he is the person who defiled Sandra.

The trial court, however, found him guilty of the crime and sentenced him to death for incest. His second appeal at the Kakamega High Court was also dismissed. He appealed to the Court of Appeal in Kisumu. Appellate Court Judges Daniel Musinga, Agnes Murgor and Stephen Kairu also dismissed the appeal, upholding the lower court’s decision. In their ruling, the judges noted that the court used Kiswahili and Kamande responded in the same language, which meant he understood the charges. They also noted that the witness testimonies were sufficient in implicating Kamande in the defilement of his daughter.