This archive report was first published on 19 July 2019.
On July 19, 2019, the High Court ordered a retrial for a man convicted of defiling and fathering a child with his 15-year-old daughter.
The man was initially convicted by Mumias Principal Magistrate Terry Odera and sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of incest and an alternative count of committing indecent acts with a minor.
The court heard that the complainant was living with her father after her step-mother moved to Dubai in search of a job. On Christmas Day of 2014, the appellant took the bedding of the complainant to his bedroom and ordered her to sleep on the floor in the same room.
During the night, the complainant told the court she was defiled, which also happened the following night. The ordeal continued till August 14, 2015, when the complainant missed her monthly periods, indicating she was pregnant.
However, the step-mother returned home in October 2015 and, instead of taking action, gave the victim drugs to abort, but they did not work. A DNA test later proved that the child was the convict's.
The man successfully appealed the judgment, citing that he had not been served with documents of the case and that he was framed over a family land matter.
