By Michelle Ndaga
A Kilifi court has sentenced a man to 25 years in prison for defiling an 11-year-old girl.
Principal Magistrate Ivy Wasike convicted and sentenced Elijah Murimi for defilement contrary to Section 8(1) as read with Section 8(2) of the Sexual Offences Act No. 3 of 2006. He was also charged with an alternative count of performing an indecent act.
The court heard that on March 13, 2024, at around 10 a.m., the minor was sent by her mother to buy pampers at a nearby shop in Tezo, Kilifi North Sub-County, when Murimi and another man waylaid her, gagged her, and dragged her into a bush where they defiled her in turns before escaping.
The girl went home crying and informed her mother, who reported the matter to the area chief before taking her to hospital, where medical examination confirmed she had been defiled.
The suspect was arrested a few days later after the victim spotted him. The prosecution, led by Nancy Njeru, called four witnesses and proved the case beyond reasonable doubt, dismissing the defence claim that the case was a conspiracy arising from a business dispute.
In her judgment, Magistrate Wasike said the offence was serious and had caused lasting trauma to the child. The court further directed that the victim receive psychosocial support.
