Defilement
Prisoners serving custodial sentences for defilement in Molo, Kuresoi North and Kuresoi South sub-counties have called on courts to hasten hearing of their appeal cases claiming they were wrongly convicted hence seek an opportunity for redress.
Led by 58-year-old teacher, David Langat who is currently serving a 20-year sentence, he claims innocence despite the conviction for having defiled and impregnated a 12-year-old pupil.
“I made a request to the court through my lawyer to have a DNA test conducted but it was not granted and therefore I feel that the evidence provided was not watertight to implicate me in committing the heinous act to a minor,” said Langat.
Speaking during a Molo Court Users Committee (CUC) visit to the Nakuru main GK prison led by Chief Magistrate, Elena Nderitu, Langat said that he has been waiting for a response to his return date to the Court of Appeal since 2021 to date for a review of his case.
“It has been a long wait for me to get a date at the Court of Appeal after the High Court quashed my case. The process is taking longer than I expected and thus i pray that they speedup this matter so that we know our fate,” requested Langat.
The former teacher was charged with committing the offence on 29th December 2018 at Keringet centre in Kuresoi South and faced an alternative charge of having an indecent act with the minor, was speaking on behalf of other convicts present during the function.
Since men often fall victim to most defilement cases, the prisoners further raised concerns urging the police officers to conduct thorough investigations in defilement matters whenever reported and they attributed the upsurge in such cases in these areas to family squabbles, revenge, while other litigants are out to make money out of it among other social ills.
‘It is so unfortunate that police officers conduct shoddy investigations having little or no documentation that acts as evidence in court. People are out there to make money out of our little daughters, and this should stop”, exclaimed Langat.
“Because of this state of affairs, our families have been destroyed and most of us who remain to be bread winners for the families spend sleepless nights hoping to gain our freedom one day,'” he added. This according to the prisoners has contributed to the loosening of the moral fabric and so they reiterated the need to conduct proper investigations and arrest and charge suspects involved.
Chief Magistrate Elena Nderitu counselled the prisoners not to give up on the court process and reiterated that their appeals will be heard and acted upon with time.
She noted further that Langat was on the right trajectory saying that if anyone feels that they have not gotten justice in the manner in which the case was handled or rather concluded, there is a window to make an appeal and move to a higher court where the case will be heard and determined.
The chief magistrate warned the notorious criminals who perpetrate defilement to stay away from the minors and allow them the right to be in their tender age. “It is frustrating to know of an adult fond of defiling minors; leaving them with a responsibility of taking care of newborn babies on their own and could even have infected them with sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV,” observed Nderitu.
For this, she warned both men and women against getting involved in sexual abuse of children saying that the wrath of the law concerning this matter is very unfriendly given that the hopes and dreams of most minors affected are crushed and if they do not adhere to the law, then they will face the dire consequences.
Since April last year to April 2024, Molo courts have concluded 58 defilement cases whereas a total of 168 defilement cases have been reported.