• Salim Opwachi was sentenced by Kakamega senior resident magistrate Viena Amboko on Friday.
• The sentence will commence on July 20, 2023
A 23-year-old man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison by a Kakamega court for defiling of a mentally ill teenager.
Salim Opwachi was sentenced by Kakamega senior resident magistrate Viena Amboko.
Opwachi, with others not before court, defiled the girl on December 6, 2022.
He also faced an alternative charge of committing an indecent act with the minor.
During sentencing, Amboko said the pre-sentence report was negative, making the accused unfit for non-custodial sentence.
“I have considered the accused person's mitigation and also that he is a first offender,” she said.
Amboko said she had taken into account the circumstances of the offence and the victim's trauma.
“Section 146 of the penal code states that the accused is liable to imprisonment of 14-years with hard labour. I sentence the accused to 14-years in jail and the sentence to commence from July 20, 2023, when he was placed in remand pending trial. He has 14 days right to appeal,” she said.
During hearing, the minor told the court that she was on her way to the shop at around 7 pm, before she was attacked by Opwachi and his accomplices.
“I met the accused along the way, they held my hands, closed my mouth and took me to a maize plantation. They asked me if I could go with them to their house but I refused and told them my mother will be angry if I went with them at that odd hour. They then defiled me in turns and left me in the plantation,” the minor said.
Prosecutor Brian Mageria told court that the minor was able to identify two people because there was moonlight.
“They also asked her if she knew them before they defiled her. They undressed her and then gang defiled her one at a time in the maize plantation and left her bleeding,” he said.
The minor was rescued by her parents who started looking for her after she failed to come back home.
“When she failed to come back home on time, her parents became suspicious and went to look for her at the shop. The shopkeeper said she served her long ago. They then searched for her everywhere and later found her in the maize plantation," Mageria said.
In his mitigation, Opwachi asked for forgiveness.
“I am a first-time offender and sole breadwinner of my family. I pray that the court forgives me,” he said.