The Director of Prosecutions has recommended that a suspect who allegedly assaulted her mentally challenged stepchild be charged for the offence.
The 28-year-old girl who suffers from Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), thus a person living with a disability, was allegedly assaulted twice last December by her stepmother, sustaining injuries in the neck.
The victim's mother died some years back and the father married another wife, who has now turned out to be her tormentor.
The matter was reported to Gigiri Police Station vide OB numbers 6/8/2022 and OB 13/23/12/2022 where the investigation was carried out and the file was forwarded to the DPP for perusal and further direction.
On February 17, 2023, the Director of Public Prosecutions wrote to Gigiri Police Station directing the investigating officer to arraign the suspect.
"Kindly proceed and have the suspect arraigned before court for plea taking and further forward the file to our ODPP offices for plea registration," says the letter in part.
The girl's stepmother is said to be a senior official in the Nairobi City County Government with the rank of deputy director.
The DPP's recommendation says that:
"Having gone through the police file and the evidence presented by way of witness statements, the medical examination report and the statement of the investigating officer, we find that the evidence as presented satisfies the threshold required to be admitted for approval."
Family members now claim senior officers at the Nairobi regional police headquarters are acting in cahoots with a State Counsel to frustrate the investigating officer from arraigning the suspect.
Gigiri OCS Elvis Kemboi defended themselves from the accusation and said the accused will be charged in the next three to four days.
"I have really helped the complainant in the case. The accused was summoned and she came to the police. She is out on a police cash bail. She is sickly and we have been waiting for her to be well and then appear in court," Kemboi said.