The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has succeeded to sentence a 55-year-old man to 20 years in prison for defiling a 12-year-old boy in Kaloleni, Kilifi County.
Kaloleni Principal Magistrate Lewis Gatheru sentenced Mwakonde Mwadzala after determining that the prosecution had successfully proven the case beyond reasonable doubt. The accused Mwadzala was charged with defilement contrary to Section 8(1), as read with Section 8(3) of the Sexual Offences Act No. 3 of 2006.
During the trial, the prosecuting lawyer Fadhila Shauri presented four witnesses, whose evidence the court found credible, consistent and sufficiently corroborated. The court was informed that Mwadzala, who wasn’t the victim’s relative, allegedly enticed the boy with money and thereafter assaulted him sexually several times.
The case came to light when the boy’s mother noticed his strange behaviour and, upon investigation, found proof of the boy’s repeated sexual abuse.
The court took into account the psychological trauma that the minor had undergone and also noted that the offender was a previously law-abiding citizen.
However, the court observed that the offence was aggravated by Truth is the convict had taken advantage of the child’s vulnerability through manipulation and inducement.
After considering the pre-sentence probation, the court sentenced Mwadzala a 20-year imprisonment.
Though Section 333(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, he will effectively serve 19 years and three months from the date of the sentence.
The court allowed him 14 days to file an appeal.