A Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) soldier was arraigned before a Nyeri court charged with defilement and child sex tourism.
The suspect, Martin Wanjii Kabura, who is based at the Embakasi Disaster Response Unit, was in the first count charged with defiling a 16-year-old minor within Kiriani Town in Murang’a County on January 5 at around 12 pm.
In count two, the accused was charged with committing sex tourism after he was arrested travelling with the minor in his car along the Nyeri-Nyahururu Highway at around 6 pm.
The accused who appeared before Principal Magistrate Mathias Okuche denied both charges and was released on a bond of Sh200, 000 with a similar surety.
According to the police report, the accused was ferrying the minor who is a from one student at a secondary school in Othaya Town in Nyeri County from Murang’a County where he made a stopover at Kiriani Town.
It was here that the accused was said to have booked a room at around midday and committed the offense before proceeding with the journey.
The accused then proceeded with the journey with the minor but hours later he was arrested at Muringato area along the Nyeri-Nyahururu Highway courtesy of a traffic incident.
The minor who was still in school uniform was rescued by the police and taken to Nyeri Referral Hospital for testing while the accused was booked at the Nyeri Police Station pending arraignment in court.
The accused who is said to be a distant relative to the minor had promised to drop her at school but that did not happen as he was arrested way past the school area and at odd hours.
The case will come up for hearing on January 17.
By Samuel Waititu
