A man in Kwale County will serve 20 years in prison after he was convicted of defiling a 12-year-old pupil.
Jackson Waweru Mwai alias Kibaki was found guilty of defilement contrary to section 8(1) as read with section 8(3) of the Sexual Offence Act.
Kwale law courts Resident Magistrate Ruth Ogolla ruled that the prosecution had presented credible, consistent and corroborated evidence linking him to the offence.
Mwai, 20, was also convicted on the alternative charge of committing an indecent act with a child contrary to section 11(1) of the Sexual Offences Act.
The accused committed the offence on March 8, 2025, at 1130 hours in Kinango Village, Kinango location, Kinango Sub-County within the Coast region.
The magistrate said the prosecution demonstrated that the accused endangered the life of the minor during the incident.
The court heard that Mwai found the minor playing in the school field with other learners when he forcefully grabbed her and covered her mouth with a piece of cloth suspected to have been laced with poison before taking her to his house.
Her distress later attracted the attention of a passer-by, who raised an alarm and alerted members of her family.
The victim’s sister testified that she was the first person to arrive at the scene after hearing the alarm and told the court that upon forcing her way into the house, she found the accused defiling her sister.
In his defence, Mwai denied the charges, claiming that he was merely playing with the child when her sister burst into the house.
Ogolla dismissed his explanation, describing it as “unbelievable” and inconsistent with the overwhelming evidence presented by the prosecution.
The court emphasized that the sentence reflected the seriousness of the offence and the need to protect children from sexual abuse.