KDF officer jailed 20 years for gang raping refugee inside Nairobi central police station

A view of the Nairobi Central police station in the central business district serving the nairobi city environs on 20th June 2025 [David Gchuru,Standard]

A Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) officer has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the gang rape of a Congolese refugee woman inside a police station in 2018, in a case that has reignited widespread outrage over impunity among Kenya's security agencies.

The High Court dismissed an appeal by Arektum Kibet Benjamin, who was convicted alongside civilian Julius Juma over the harrowing attack that occurred on August 14, 2018. The two were initially sentenced to seven years in 2021, but that ruling was challenged by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), which sought a stiffer penalty.