Court reduces convict’s 30-year sentence to 10

 

A woman who was imprisoned for 30 years for committing an indecent act with a minor in Gatundu in 2015 got a reprieve after Kiambu High Court reduced the sentence to 10 years.

Gatundu Senior resident Magistrate E. Nyongesa had jailed Tabitha Wanjiku Mburu on August 6, 2018 after finding her guilty of contravening section 11(1) of the Sexual Offences Act.

However, after hearing her appeal, the then visiting Lady Justice Esther Maina substituted the charges to unlawfully compelling another person to engage in an indecent act contrary to section 6 (a) of the Sexual Offence Act and termed the sentence excessive.

“I have in this case considered that the appellant was a first offender,” said Justice Maina.

She is said to have committed the indecent act with the four-year-old boy at Isamba village in Gatundu North Sub-County within Kiambu on January 31, 2015 at 2pm.

According to the evidence, the complainant’s mother and appellant were neighbours and on the material day, Wanjiku had requested the complainant’s mother to repair her spoilt brassier. And as the mother went about doing so, Wanjiku sat on a chair and allegedly put the complainant on her laps asking him to suckle her breasts but he declined saying he was old for that.

After repairing the brassier, the complainant’s mother allegedly left the boy playing outside the appellant’s house. Later, the boy went home and told her mother that Wanjiku had abused him. She reported the matter to Kanyeia Police post and then took the child to Ngorongo Health Centre where he was examined and put on antiretroviral medication.

His P3 form was subsequently filled at Igegania Hospital. The boy said he was in Wanjkus sitting room alone when she approached and defiled him.

In defence, Wanjiku had told the court that the complainant’s mother had framed her and even demanded to be paid Sh150,000 in order to resolve the case outside court but that she refused since she knew she was innocent.