Father who defiled, impregnated daughter loses bid to overturn 30 years’ jail term

A father who defiled and impregnated his daughter has lost an appeal to have his 30-year jail sentence reversed.

The man defiled his daughter as he wielded a machete to threaten her against raising alarm.

The High Court in Kisumu ruled that the trial court made no mistake in sentencing SOO for the period for incest and engaging in an indecent act with his 17-year-old child in 2018.

The court further stated that a social evaluation report on MOO suggested that he was a man fit for a custodial sentence contrary to what he had pleaded for.

“The sentence imposed on MOO by the trial magistrate was not harsh or excessive. This court would be entitled to interfere with the sentence if it was not legal or was harsh and excessive as to have amounted to miscarriage of justice,” said Lady Justice Jacqueline Kamau.

MOO was tried and convicted by a Maseno Principal Magistrate’s court in 2019 for committing incest on diverse dates between July 2017 and July 16, 2018 in Upper Kombewa Sub-location, Seme Sub-county within Kisumu County.

His daughter MAO testified that she was living with MOO, a step-mother and other siblings after her mother left them and married another man.

“Unfortunately my step-mother also left. After she (step-mother) left, my father (MOO), while naked and armed with a panga, would come to the kitchen house where I used to sleep, take me to the main house and defile me,” she testified.

Her evidence was that he defiled her three times before she got pregnant and delivered and twice after she delivered.

Nyumba Kumi members got wind of the ordeal and reported it to the area chief, Ms Christabel Ombok.

The chief took MOO and the complainant to the police station and thereafter took the complainant to the children’s office and wrote a letter for her placement at a Children’s rescue centre.

MOO denied the charge, saying the sexual offence took long to be reported and that there was no strong evidence to prove intercourse.

Polycap Kweyu, an analyst at the Kisumu Government Chemist, however, testified that DNA analysis and profile showed MOO was the father of her daughter's child.