High Court releases woman jailed for 10 years for lying of sexual abuse

High Court PHOTO: COURTESY

A woman who lied that she had been sexually molested by a man she disliked has been released after spending three years in jail.

Margaret Lesiayi was sentenced to ten years in prison after she failed to prove her lie against the man. She later confessed in court that she had lied, prompting Senior Resident Magistrate Benson Sikuku Khapoy to slap a jail sentence on her.

However, the woman got reprieve yesterday when the High Court set her free, after it discovered that the section dealing with liars did not exist in the Kenyan law as it was repealed in 2012.

Justice Mary Kasango released Lesiayi, noting that the prosecution had failed to to carry out its mandate within the law.

 She said it was strange for the woman to get a harsh sentence for an offence which did not exist in Kenya's new law.

 "Indeed that is correct. It follows that Margaret was charged under a Section of the Law that does not exist," said Justice Kasango.