Shamba boy handed 20 years for raping girl aged eight

A convict serving life imprisonment for sexual offence got a reprieve when his sentence was substituted to 20 years.

Judge Jesse Njagi said the appellant was a young man at the time of offence and should not spend the rest of his life incarcerated.

Elvis Wafula Wasike was found guilty of defiling a girl aged eight on July 12, 2015, in Mumias East sub-county.

The complainant and two of her siblings had been left under the care of the appellant who had been their farmboy for around six months.

The girl said Wafula called her to the kitchen, where he raped her.

When her mother returned home two hours later, she noticed the girl was dull and reserved, unlike other days.

When she enquired, Wafula informed her that she had fallen down while playing.

The following day the girl’s mother noticed that her child walked with difficulty.

The girl told the mother she had been defiled and warned with death if she reported.

She was taken to Makunga Dispensary where tests revealed she had been defiled.

Wafula was later charged with defilement and an alternative count of committing indecent acts with a minor.

In his defense, he stated that the complainant’s mother coerced the girl to say what she said.

However, he was found guilty and handed a mandatory life penalty, which he appealed.

Wafula said the trial court erred in law and findings on convicting him on evidence marred with contradictions and inconsistencies.

He also argued that the trial court forced one of the witness in giving a fabricated version of the case.

Justice Njagi said the appellant was a first time offender and that life sentence for him would be unfair.