A Nakuru court has convicted a man of defilement after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting his niece.
Nakuru Resident Magistrate Yvonne Khathambi found the accused, identified by initials EW, guilty as charged after the court was told that he defiled his 12-year-old niece.
The magistrate heard that the accused committed the crime repeatedly, between 2017 and January 28, 2018, in a case where the prosecution provided nine witnesses.
It was heard that the crime was done in Njoro sub-county, where the victim told the court that she lived with her grandmother before her uncle began raping her.
The magistrate found the crime serious, throwing out the accused's pleas to be given a noncustodial sentence. She ruled that this would deny the victim justice.
"The court notes that the offence is serious and a non-custodial sentence would not serve justice to the minor," said the magistrate, while handing down her ruling on Friday.
In his defence, the accused insisted that he is innocent, but was still found guilty, with the magistrate pointing out that such cases have been on the rise lately.
She also said that she considered that the accused was remorseful, slapping him with 30 years imprisonment, which she said is in consideration that he is a first time offender.
The convict has a 14-day window to appeal the ruling.