By Wainaina Ndung’u
A Nyeri farmer was Thursday sentenced to life imprisonment for attempting to defile a neighbour’s four-year-old daughter.
Paul Gatheru, a father of two, was sent to prison by Nyeri Senior Principal Magistrate Shadrack Okato who convicted him of committing the beastly act on October 20, last year at his home in Endarasha village in Kieni West district, Nyeri County.
The magistrate said evidence presented in court showed that the accused lured the girl to his house, undressed her and attempted to defile her but was scared by her screaming.
“The offence committed is serious and beastly. He lured a four-year old- girl and attempted to defile her,” said the magistrate.
The magistrate said the complainant’s evidence and that of her five-year-old brother who peeped through a crack in the wooden door and saw the farmer on top of the girl was enough to send him to the cooler for the rest of his life.
Okato threw out the accused claim that the complainant’s parents were angry that he had chased away the children from his home because they were making loud noises and disturbing him.
“He did not require a quiet environment as he wants us to believe because he immediately left for Endarasha market. Assuming he chased away the children as he alleges, they were many yet none of the other parents complained about it,” said the magistrate.
The magistrate said the accused unsworn evidence had not shaken the defence case as he had failed to show there existed any grudge between him and the victim’s mother.
