By Petra Njeri
A Mombasa High Court has increased a 40-year prison sentence to life imprisonment for a man convicted of defiling a minor in Mombasa.
The accused, Omar Pato, had initially received a 40-year sentence for defiling a child aged 11 years.
However, he appealed the sentence in the High Court.
The appeal was, however, dismissed, Justice Mucheni asserting that it lacked merit.
Upon review, the High Court found that this sentence was inconsistent with the law, which mandates life imprisonment for such cases.
Thorough presentation of evidence and reasons by the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) through Prosecution Counsel Wangui Ngiri, Hon. Lady Justice Wendy Kagendo Micheni, replaced Pato’s 40-year sentence with life imprisonment.
The High Court determined that the prosecution had proven that the offence met the threshold beyond a reasonable doubt, including the victim’s age, the occurrence of penetration, and the identification of the accused.
It highlighted that the mandatory nature of the sentence leaves no room for discretion in such a case.
Justice Micheni stated that the Trial Court was correct in issuing the 40-year sentence, but, citing the infamous Supreme Court Muruatetu decision, decided to revise it to life imprisonment.
She reaffirmed that the earlier 40-year sentence was inconsistent with the law mandating life imprisonment for the defilement of a child aged 11 or younger.
The court confirmed that a life sentence indeed meant imprisonment for the rest of the convict’s life.
The boda boda rider committed the offense on November 14, 2022, in the Mikanjuni area of Jomvu sub-county, Mombasa County.
He was previously entrusted to take the minor to school and the madrasa since she was in nursery school.
However, on that fateful day, instead of taking her to school, the perpetrator defiled her on a narrow path leading to the school.
Good Samaritans intervened, rescuing the minor and rushing her to the hospital for medication and the perpetrator was handed over to the police.