This archive report was first published on 16 August 2019.
On August 16, 2019, a Kenyan court handed down a 15-year prison sentence to each of two rugby players found guilty of gang-rape.
Frank Wanyama and Alex Olaba, who played for Kenya Harlequins, were convicted of raping a musician in a Nairobi apartment on February 10, 2018.
The two had been out on 500,000 shillings cash bail each, but were remanded in custody until their sentencing.
Magistrate Martha Mutuku ruled that the two have a right to appeal the verdict.
The incident occurred at Seefar apartments in Highrise, Nairobi, where the woman claimed she was repeatedly raped by the two men after a night of drinking.
The woman, who was intoxicated at the time, had attended a party in Kilimani where the two rugby players were present.
She had gone home with them, but they took advantage of her state and refused to take no for an answer.
The defence lawyer, Jimmy Wafula Simiyu, had prayed for a lenient and non-custodial sentence, citing the two men's clean record and obedience to court directions.
