Man sentenced to death for defilement and murder

A 25-year-old man has been sentenced to death for defiling and killing a 14-year-old girl.

Charles Langat, who worked for the minor's aunt as a herdsman, committed the offences on December 13, 2015, in Londiani.

The victim had attended a Mass at St Barnabas Catholic Church at Kamuingi as her mother and aunt went to Kenya Assemblies of God.

The victim returned before her mother and aunt. Langat had been home the whole day.

When the minor's aunt and mother returned at 2pm, the girl was nowhere to be seen and Langat was also missing.

They waited for Langat and the minor to return but to no avail. The victim's mother found her body in the evening as she drove cattle into the shed.

"When she opened the door to the sheep's pen, she found the deceased on the ground with no underpants and covered in blood,” the prosecutor, Susan Keli, told Justice Mumbi Ngugi.

Sharp object

“The stomach injuries and the injuries to the scalp could have been caused by a sharp object. The hymen, which was freshly torn, would have been due to penetration by a male sexual organ and any other blunt object,” said a postmortem report by George Biketi, a senior Nakuru County medical officer.

"We also found semen in the minor's vagina. She also had a stab wound extending from the spleen, the stomach, the omentum and liver."

Henry Sang, from the Government Chemist, said: “Our analysis concluded the DNA profiles from the knife and the pair of trousers matched those generated from the victim's blood sample."

Justice Mumbi said: “The accused defiled the victim, stabbed her brutally and then carried her body into the sheep’s pen where he dumped it. This was a clear case of murder. I find that the accused deserves the death penalty. I therefore sentence him to death." Langat has 14 days to appeal.