Twelve-year-old Cheryl Akinyi's body was found in a thicket three weeks after she was defiled, while going to the market.
According to her mother, Akinyi was killed two days after she testified in court over the defilement. The man accused of the sex crime has been in police custody since early July.
Akinyi's body was discovered by neighbours, lying in the thicket, by the roadside not far from home. A pathologist's report indicates the girl was strangled.
Close friend
Maureen Adhiambo, her mother, told The Standard Akinyi was defiled on the evening of June 21, 2018, on her way to buy paraffin.
A weeping Ms Adhiambo said her daughter, a pupil at Anyiko Primary School in Ligega, Ugenya, Siaya County, told her she was defiled by a neighbour, a close friend of her stepfather.
“On Friday morning, I went with Cheryl to school. The head teacher told me to report the matter to police and take her to the hospital. I did exactly that and tests revealed she had been defiled.
“Cheryl said it was not the first time she had been defiled by this man. He had done it several times. The matter of defilement is in court now,” said the mother.
The family now wants police to establish who killed the girl.
According to the family, Akinyi disappeared on the night of July 31, 2018. The parents sleep in the main house while their four children sleep in the kitchen.
It is the stepfather who discovered the girl had gone missing. He, too, died in unclear circumstances a few days after Akinyi's death.
On the fateful night, he had gone out for a short call, only to find the kitchen door wide open, Adhiambo recalled.
“He then called me, sounding very worried. When I walked out I was shocked to see the door wide open. He asked me why the children had not closed the door before going to sleep. I was sure the children had closed the door, I had talked to them before they slept,” she said.
Want justice
Adhiambo said they searched for her daughter in the neighbourhood in vain.
In the morning, a neighbour called and informed her that her daughter's body had been found in a thicket.
"We want justice. We also want to know if there is any link between her murder and the case in court," said Adhiambo.
Ugenya OCPD Paul Tiriki said they were investigating the death. "As soon as we have more information, we will give details," he said.
