A Meru inmate has opened up on the unique circumstances that landed him in jail until 2039. The Meru man narrated how he ended up in jail. Thirty-six-year-old Kirimi narrated that his troubles began when he started an affair with a married woman who would visit his house occasionally to fulfil the needs of the flesh. Speaking to Inooro TV, Kirimi recounted that fateful day when members of his community, including the chief and the woman’s husband, found him and his married mistress having their romantic rendezvous in his house.
“Days before, I had had a misunderstanding with the chief after he had taken my boda boda. During that altercation with him, I threatened to finish him off, and this annoyed him. So when he got wind of a married woman in my house, he came with her husband and other members from my community,” he recounted. . Kirimi said that upon spotting her husband as part of the crowd, the woman was frightened, and she turned against him, claiming he had taken her to his house forcefully. “She denied ever knowing me, claiming that I had taken her to my house to assault her. She did not want her husband to know that she was unfaithful because she was also pregnant for him,” he narrated.
Kirimi’s court case That would mark his journey in the corridors of justice, where he was found guilty of the crime the woman accused him of, leading to his imprisonment until 2039. “I did not know much about court proceedings, and I thus also withheld the information about my affair with the woman. This cost me my freedom because I was found guilty of the assault. I wish I was truthful to the judge about what had happened,” he narrated. He thought disclosing that he knew the woman and was in an affair with her would land her in even more trouble with the justice system. Kirimi said he felt his sentence was harsh, and he hopes the woman could come forward to withdraw the charges because they were having an affair. “The woman wanted to save her marriage by lying that she did not know me, and I also thought hiding our affair from the court would work in my favour. I was really mistaken,” he regretted. He said the experience behind bars has not been easy, and he hopes for a fresh start if his appeal goes through.
by Racheal Nyaguthie
