This archive report was first published on 3 July 2020.
On July 3, 2020, the Lamu Law Courts delivered a life sentence to Police Constable Rodgers Ouma, 32, for raping a woman who had sought help at the Lamu Police Station eight months prior.
The incident occurred on December 8, 2019, at Ouma's house in the Lamu Police Lines in Langoni. The victim had visited the police station at 8pm to report that her husband was forcing her to take abortion pills to terminate an unplanned pregnancy.
After recording her complaint, Ouma promised to help her, but instead, he locked the door, grabbed her phone, and turned it off. He then forced himself on her and threatened to kill her using a knife.
The victim managed to escape and spent the night in a neighbour's house. She could not go back to her house because she left her keys and mobile phone in Ouma's house.
Investigators recovered the victim's belongings from Ouma's house and arrested him promptly. A medical examination showed that the woman had indeed been raped.
While sentencing the officer, Principal Magistrate Allan Temba declared Ouma a dangerous sex convict under Section 39(1)(b) of the Sexual Offences Act due to his lack of remorse and new intimidation tactics.
“For the aggravated rape, the court sentences him to life imprisonment to protect the complainant from the promised threat and to act as a deterrent to other like-minded persons. In count 2, the court sentences Ouma to 10 years imprisonment which is concurrent to the life imprisonment,” said Mr Temba.
The court also ruled that the complainant be compensated with Sh400,000 as general damages for soft tissue injuries, mental anguish, and torture as stipulated under section 175(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
