This archive report was first published on 18 July 2019.
On February 5, 2018, a heinous crime was committed in Nyapeta Village, Buchifu Location in Mumias West, Kakamega County. A 38-year-old man, Philip Waswani, was found guilty of defiling a 15-year-old child living with disability.
The child's mother had left her daughter, who is crippled and deaf, in the house to go to the market. When she returned, she found her daughter limping in pain. It was her younger siblings who revealed that they had found the suspect raping the girl in a nearby maize field.
Appearing before Resident Magistrate Fredrick Nyakundi at the Mumias Law Courts, the suspect pleaded for forgiveness, stating that he has a young family that is dependent on him. However, Justice Nyakundi affirmed that it was clear that the child had been defiled according to evidence from the complainant and the doctor who attended to the victim.
On July 18, 2019, the court handed Waswani a 15-year prison sentence. He was given 14 days to appeal the decision.
Report by Kefa Juma
