A court in Ndhiwa, Homa Bay county, on Friday sentenced a man to life imprisonment after he was convicted for defiling a minor.
Paul Juma Rwaka was presented before Magistrate Vincent Kiplagat, who jailed him for life after finding him guilty of defiling the 5-year-old girl.
The court heard that the convict committed the act on the girl at her mother's house in Minyere Village, South Kanyikela location in Ndhiwa, on February 20, 2019, at around 7pm.
In her testimony before the court, the victim's elder sister said that she found the suspect washing the girl's genitals with water, apparently to wipe away the evidence.
She added that her sister was in pain.
In agreement with the prosecution, the magistrate ruled that the accused indeed committed the offence, terming the evidence overwhelming.
“There is overwhelming evidence that the suspect defiled the girl,” he said, according to the Nation.
A medical report presented before court also confirmed that the girl was defiled.
The man pleaded with the court for a lesser sentence, on grounds that he is the sole breadwinner of his family, pleas that were dismissed.
The court also heard that the suspect is a friend of the girls' family.
He was given a 14-day period to appeal the sentence.