Court rejects appeal by sex offender

A woman convicted to 15 years in prison for defiling a 16-year-old boy has been dealt a blow after the High Court in Kisumu dismissed her appeal.

Yesterday, a woman believed to be Judith Wandera’s mother fainted at the corridors of the court after the verdict by Justice Fred Ochieng'.

Justice Ochieng' described the sentence by the lower court as very lenient.

“The conviction was done under the law. The appeal is dismissed and has no merit,” said the judge.

In her appeal, Wandera had submitted that the charge sheet that was used at the lower court was defective and claimed that the particulars could have been indicated as “penetrative”.

In his judgement, however, Ochieng' dismissed that claim and noted that the case was in relation to defilement.

Wandera claimed she did not have any legal training to comprehend her case at the lower courts. Ochieng' also dismissed this ground of appeal.

Last year, Principal Magistrate Joan Wambilyanga found her guilty of sexually molesting the Standard Seven pupil.