A 13-year-old girl’s courage to speak out against her own father has brought justice after the Kibera Law Courts on Thursday handed him a life sentence for defilement.

A 36-year-old man has been sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of defiling his 13-year-old daughter.

Delivering the verdict, Kibera Law Courts Principal Magistrate Zainab Abdul said the convict will serve an additional five years for cruelty after it was established that he repeatedly assaulted the child with a knife and pinched her ears using pegs.

During the hearing, the Magistrate said the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt and described the man’s conduct as “a complete lack of humanity.”

“Defiling one’s own daughter is the ultimate betrayal of parental duty, warranting the maximum penalty under the law,” the Magistrate ruled.

The court heard that the girl, after being rescued and placed in a children’s home, confided to a social worker that her father had been defiling her.

He was also found guilty of cruelty for assaulting the young girl with a knife and pinching her ears with pegs.

For this, he was given an additional five-year sentence, which will remain in abeyance while he serves life in prison.

The ordeal came to light only after the girl was rescued and placed in a children’s home.

While there, away from fear, she confided in a social worker about the pain she had endured.

Her voice, supported by medical evidence and witness accounts, exposed a harrowing story of betrayal at the hands of the very person meant to protect her.

The prosecution argued its case presented by a Ms Keitany, whose “thoroughness” the court said left no doubt about the father’s guilt.

Principal Magistrate Hon Abdul, while delivering judgment, commended the prosecution and stressed the weight of the crime, noting it had been proven beyond reasonable doubt.

In her ruling, the magistrate condemned the convict’s actions as “a complete lack of humanity.”

She emphasised that turning against one’s own child was the ultimate betrayal of parental duty and warranted the harshest penalty under the law.

For the young girl, the verdict closed a painful chapter and opened the door to healing.

Her story stands as a reminder of the need for society to protect its most vulnerable.

Section 8 of Sexual Offences Act says that a person who commits an offence of defilement with a child aged 11 years or less shall upon conviction be sentenced to imprisonment for life.

It says if the victim is a child between the age of 12 and 15 years, the convict is liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than 20 years.

It is a defence under this section if it is proved that such a child deceived the accused person into believing that he or she was over the age of 18 years at the time of the alleged commission of the offence, and the accused reasonably believed that the child was over the age of 18 years.

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The Magistrate commended the thoroughness of the prosecution, noting that the prosecution had proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt by presenting medical evidence and witness testimony that corroborated the minor’s account.

Following the sentence, the additional five-year sentence will remain in abeyance while the convict serves his life term.