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| A 25-year-old man, who had been wrongly convicted for defilement, has been set free. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP |
A 25-year-old man, who had been wrongly convicted for defilement, has been set free.
The Kakamega High Court freed the man after it found no strong evidence against him.
Mr Timothy Lipese, a boda boda operator, had been sentenced to 10 years in jail in 2017 by Hamisi Resident Magistrate Dennis Ogal for defiling an 11-year-old girl.
He was also faced a separate charge of committing indecent acts with a minor.
The prosecution claimed the minor was on her way to buy milk when he met the accused who dragged her to his house where he defiled her.
CONTRADICTING STATEMENTS
In his ruling, Justice Jesse Njagi said that contradicting statements of various witnesses were not considered during trial.
“I reject the submission by the state that the charge of defilement was proven. I find the trial magistrate erred in convicting him,” he ruled.
He noted that reports from Mr Stephen Videnyi, a nursing officer, showed that the complainant was HIV positive while the accused was not.
Mr Njagi also noted that the trial magistrate had admitted hearsay evidence of the complainant without any documented proof.