Form four candidate sentenced to seven years for defilement

A court sitting in Embu has sentenced a form four candidate to serve seven years in prison after he was found guilty of defilement.

Brian Mutwiri denied defiling a form two girl aged 16 years on August 23, 2020, at Gatunduri sublocation in Embu West subcounty.

He also faced an alternative charge of committing an indecent act with a child.

While handing the sentence, Embu Senior Resident Magistrate Juliana Ndeng'eri observed that, whereas the court considered the accused was in his final year, the options were limited as the law provides for a minimum sentence.

She said the court in an attempt to balance the rights of the accused as an adult despite being a candidate, the rights of the minor were paramount at all times.

"The accused is in school and in his final year. He is an adult and cannot be taken to a borstal institution," ruled Ndeng'eri.

Through his counsel Njeru Nthiga, the accused pleaded for leniency from the court. "The accused is a form four candidate, he is remorseful and asks the court to consider that," the counsel submitted.

The court ruled that the offence was centred on consent, penetration and identification. "The three were proved and a 16-year-old could not consent to engage in sex with the accused person and an identification was properly done," Ndeng'eri noted in the ruling.

The court further ruled that ingredients of the offence of defilement were duly proved and to the required standard and the accused was found guilty and convicted accordingly.

According to the court documents, the Form One girl in 2020 spent three days at the accused person’s house.

She told the court she wanted the matter to be resolved to be able to marry the accused person with who she said they were in a relationship.

The mother had reported that her girl had vanished only to return three days later.

The girl also told the court that she had sought refuge as she was stressed by her mother who was unkind to her.