LOITOKTOK, Kenya, May 24 – A middle-aged man who was charged with defiling a 14-year-old mentally challenged girl has been acquitted by a Loitoktok court on a legal technicality after the prosecution bungled the case.
While acquitting Daniel Kinyanjui, Principal Magistrate Judicaster Nthuku directed the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to consider legal action against Police Constable Mercy Osoro, the initial investigating officer in the case and Ann Kitenge, by then Children officer for subverting the course of justice for the victim by acting outside the law.
The accused is said to have committed the offence on January 30, 2019, at Pilipili area in Loitoktok Sub County.
Jane Nganga, mother of the girl had told the court how her daughter had gone outside to play with other children after feeding her.
After a moment, she was approached by mama Maggy who is now deceased who told her she had seen her emerging from a maize field together with the girl.
The girl told them the accused had put something in her private parts hence the matter was reported at Ilasit police station, where Osoro took over the case but before the accused took plea after he was arrested, the children officer formed a Kangaroo court and she escorted the accused with his belonging out of Loitoktok and told him never to return.
The court found the testimony of the girl was greatly hampered by her mental challenge and needed to be corroborated for the court to rely on it.
The girl said that on the material day, the accused put something in her genital area without any other detail which the court found needed support of other evidence, which was hampered by investigating officer, who failed to record statement of the witness, Mama Maggy, who died before the accused was rearrested.
In his defense, the accused denied the allegation saying there was a bad blood between him and the father of the girl due to business rivalry.
The court found the prosecution had not proved the case beyond reasonable doubt and acquitted the accused.