A Kakamega man has been sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of defiling a six-year-old girl.
The man had turned 22 by the time of sentencing despite being 17 when the offence occurred.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) said the man was initially charged with defilement under Section 8(1) as read with Section 8(2) of the Sexual Offences Act.
He also faced an alternative charge of committing an indecent act with a child and a separate charge of assault causing actual bodily harm.
The prosecution called six witnesses whose evidence established that the girl had been sexually assaulted and sustained injuries.
The ODPP said an age assessment report established the child's age and was supported by medical evidence and testimony from other prosecution witnesses.
“Further, the prosecution presented an age assessment report that conclusively established the victim's age. This was corroborated by medical evidence and testimony from other prosecution witnesses, while evidence presented before the court demonstrated penetration and positively identified the accused as the perpetrator despite his denial,” the ODPP said.
The court convicted the accused of both defilement and assault causing actual bodily harm after finding that the prosecution had proved the offences beyond reasonable doubt.
During sentencing, the court considered his mitigation that he was 17 when the offences were committed.
Section 8(7) of the Sexual Offences Act provides that a person below 18 who is convicted of an offence under the Act may be sentenced in accordance with the Borstal Institutions Act and the Children’s Act.
However, the court held that the provision did not apply because the accused had attained adulthood by the time he was sentenced.
The court consequently treated him as an adult for sentencing and applied Section 8(2) of the Sexual Offences Act.
The provision prescribes life imprisonment for a person convicted of defilement involving a child aged 11 years or below.
The court sentenced the man to life imprisonment for defilement and an additional four-year prison term for assault causing actual bodily harm.
The sentences will run concurrently, meaning the life sentence will determine the period of imprisonment. The sentence took effect from June 17, 2026.
The case involved a legal question over sentencing where an accused person was a minor when an offence was committed but had become an adult by the time proceedings concluded.
The ODPP noted that Kenyan courts have previously considered similar questions involving offenders who were children at the time of an offence but reached adulthood before sentencing.
In Kiti v Republic, the Court of Appeal examined the legal position of an offender who was a minor when an offence was committed but had become an adult by the time the case was concluded.
The court considered the offender's age at the time of the offence in determining the applicable child justice protections, while also addressing the circumstances arising when an accused reaches adulthood before sentencing.
In the Kakamega case, however, the trial court concluded that the accused was liable to be sentenced as an adult and that the statutory penalty under Section 8(2) applied.
