A 32-year-old man has been sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment after a Kilifi court convicted him of defiling and trafficking a 16-year-old girl.
Chief Magistrate Charles Obulutsa on Wednesday found Godfrey Memba guilty of defilement contrary to Section 8(1) as read with Section 8(4) of the Sexual Offences Act and trafficking in persons contrary to Section 3(1) as read with Section 3(5) of the Counter Trafficking in Persons Act.
The offences occurred between April 12 and May 4, 2025.
The court heard that Memba met the minor at New Life Church in Mavueni, on the outskirts of Kilifi town, where he seduced and groomed her.
He persuaded her to flee from her grandmother’s custody.
He then transported the girl and the children from Mavueni to Mombasa, where he housed her and repeatedly subjected her to sexual exploitation.
The case came to light when the girl’s family reported her missing at Chasimba police station, prompting an escalation to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Kilifi North.
During the search, the minor’s father received extortionist text messages demanding money for her return.
Digital profiling traced the phone number to Memba, leading detectives to arrest him at Repentance and Holiness Church in Mombasa, where the girl was rescued.
Six prosecution witnesses testified, including the minor, a medical doctor and the arresting officer.
Prosecution Counsel Ridhwan Mohamed presented evidence that Memba recruited, transported and harboured the minor for both sexual and financial exploitation.
The court accepted that the text messages demanding payment constituted proof of financial exploitation.
In his ruling, Magistrate Obulutsa held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
He found that Memba used seduction to lure the child from her grandmother and moved her across county borders.
The magistrate dismissed the convict’s defence as “weak and contradictory”, noting that Memba offered no explanation for why the missing minor was found in his company in Mombasa.
The court cited the victim’s age and the aggravated nature of the offences – defilement compounded by trafficking – as key factors in sentencing.
Memba was handed a 30-year prison term and granted 14 days to appeal both the conviction and the sentence.
