When he saw a magistrate via a Zoom video, he thought the environment was friendly compared to psychically being in court.
But when the verdict was read, Nicolas Wambua appeared weak, helpless and disillusioned.
At some point, he pleaded with the magistrate to forgive him, but it was too late as the officers around him pushed him away to pave the way for another suspect to receive his verdict.
Wambua had been charged with defiling a 12-year-old girl after allegedly stabbing her with a fork and dragging her to his bedroom.
He committed the offence on March 30 at Bangladesh in Lang’ata subcounty, Nairobi.
Wambua was also charged with touching the minor indecently, contrary to the Sexual Offences Act. He denied all charges.
But Kibera senior principal magistrate Esther Boke on Friday sentenced him to 20 years in jail.
Prosecutor Nancy Kerubo called several witnesses to testify, including the minor.
The girl told the court that the accused lived close to their home. She said he dragged her into a room, stabbed her hand and defiled her.
“He dragged me into his bedroom, stabbed my hand with a fork and pointed a knife at my throat before removing my clothes and defiled me,” she told the court.
She said the accused person’s wife had invited her into their house to help her wash the dishes and thereafter, she watched cartoons as the woman of the house went about other duties.
“His wife asked me to assist her with washing dishes. I told her my mother does not like me visiting other people’s houses but she assured me that she would lock the door and leave me inside with the key and no one would notice I was inside,” she said.
She was instructed not to open the door for anyone and to watch cartoon after washing the dishes. She later heard a phone ring from outside as she sat watching cartoons. She saw the accused sitting on a stone.
The court heard that the man came to the window and ordered her to open the door. She handed the keys to him for him to open from outside.
“He entered the house with some vegetables and demanded to know where his wife was. I told him she had left and would be coming back shortly. It was then that he grabbed my hand and dragged me into his bedroom and defiled me.”
She said Wambua forced her to shower and ordered her to never disclose what he had done to her “for the sake of my life”.
A month later on April 29, the accused went to the minor’s house with a panga to allegedly give her mother some vegetables to sell. But the mother was away, the court heard.
“On hearing that she was not around, he hit me with the panga and threatened to kill me and my family if I ever disclosed what he had done to me,” she said.
The pain was too much and she could not keep quiet when the mother demanded to know what had happened.
“My mother asked me what the problem was as I had injuries. I was in pain. I told her what the matter was and we reported to the police and the accused was arrested. I was taken to hospital,” the court heard.
The investigating officer from Lang’ata police station also testified and said she was persuaded the accused person committed the offence.
The complainant’s mother also testified.
However, Wambua, in his defence, told the court that the case was not genuine. He said he had stayed in prison and appealed for a lenient sentence.
“Your honour, forgive me as I need to see my family since my child was born I have not seen him and I beg you to forgive me,” he said.
But Boke, while sentencing, said the offence was serious. The accused was given 14 days to appeal.