How death of victim set doctor free from rape charges

Renal Doctor Dias Juma Wabwile acquitted of raping a patient during a dialysis session at Pandya Hospital. [Courtesy]

A former renal doctor charged with raping his patient at Pandya Memorial Hospital has been acquitted for lack of evidence from the victim, who succumbed to cancer before testifying.

Dias Juma Wabwile was freed for lack of sufficient evidence to sustain a conviction.

Milimiani Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina said that the prosecution failed to adduce sufficient evidence to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.

The magistrate noted that the victim, MTK, who was the key witness, did not testify after she succumbed to the illness.

Wabwire was charged with raping MTK who he had been providing dialysis for the past year.

Wabwire, who was a clinician at Pandya Hospital, was accused of committing the act inside the hospital premises while attending to MTK, who was undertaking dialysis sessions at the said hospital.

According to the reports, Wabwire has been attending to MTK for the past year.

It is alleged that Wabwire took advantage of the morning dialysis sessions to sexually harass MTK.

It is alleged that on January 31, 2025, Wabwire raped MTK.

Wabwire was later interdicted by Pandya Hospital.

In their statement, Kenya Women Federation (FIDA) said that they will appeal Wabwile’s acquittal.

The prosecution relied on security footage from Pandya Memorial Hospital, which allegedly documented Wabwile’s irregular physical presence and misconduct in the dialysis unit.

In his defence, Wabwile maintained that he did not sexually assault or commit any indecent act against the patient at Pandya Memorial Hospital,

Wabwile argued that failure to cross-examine MTK was a breach of his constitutional right to a fair trial under section 50 of the Constitution.

Wabwile’s legal counsel said that MTK's absence meant that she would not be cross-examined on the veracity of the police statement she recorded.

Wabwile also said there were no eyewitnesses to the alleged rape.

He said that the security footage and medical logs failed to definitively prove any physical or non-consensual sexual contact occurred between him and MTK.

However, FIDA said that MTK’s untimely death should not nullify her quest for justice or completely erase her recorded testimony.

FIDA had applied to have MTK’s original police statement adopted by the court together with a certified police statement recorded shortly after the incident on January 31, 2025, as her primary examination-in-chief evidence.

FIDA said that under extraordinary circumstances where a primary witness dies before trial completion, the state must balance the accused's rights with the victim's right to access justice.

However, the court declined to adopt her statement, stating that it violated the defence’s constitutional right to cross-examine.

On March 4, 2026, the court ruled that the prosecution has established a prima facie case to place Wabwile on his defence.