The high court in Nyeri has sentenced a father who defiled his three-year-old daughter and fractured her limb to life imprisonment.
In a judgement delivered in an open court by Nyeri Senior Resident Magistrate Mercyline Lubia, Francis Mbithi was found guilty of the offence of incest, contrary to Section 20(1) of the Sexual Offences Act. He was also found guilty of causing actual bodily harm, contrary to Section 251 of the penal code.
The incident is said to have taken place on January 19, 2021, at Witemere village in Nyeri town.
The court heard that on the material day, the minor, identified as QWW, was playing with other children when Mbithi called her. Moments later, the children who had been playing with the complainant informed QWW’s mother, Moureen Nyaguthii, that the complainant was heard crying inside their house.
In her submission, Nyaguthii stated that the accused person who was in the house with the child refused to open the door, prompting her to seek the help of his grandmother, Eunice Wanjiku.
Wanjiku testified that, “It was after a struggle and with the help of other people who were present that we managed to get into the house, where we found QWW in the sleeping position as she could not sit. QWW had been beaten as well.”
Both Nyaguthii and Wanjiku also testified that upon taking QWW to the County Referral Hospital, the doctors instructed them to obtain a P3 form from the police before they could administer treatment to the three-year-old. According to the P3 submitted before the court, QWW had a fracture of the femur, a burn on the inner thigh, and multiple facial and interior chest abrasions.
In her testimony, Nyaguthii stated that the fracture had to be corrected through surgery, but a revelation by the doctors during the operation threw her off kilter.
Dr. William Muriuki, a doctor at the county referral hospital, submitted that QWW had been examined while under anaesthesia in a theatre, and her post-rape case forms (PRC) showed that she had a broken hymen and lacerations.
In making her determination, Magistrate Lubia noted that Mbithi had been properly identified as the assailant. She stated that the fact that Mbithi was the last person to be seen with the child while she was well and the first person to be seen with the minor when she was injured is clear proof of his guilt. Further, Justice noted that Mbithi did not dispute the fact that he was QWW’s father.
“In this case, it has been proven beyond reasonable doubt that the accused person shares a father-daughter relationship with the complainant. It has been proven that there was an act of penetration. The accused person has been positively identified as the perpetrator. I therefore find the accused person guilty of the offence of incest contrary to Section 20(1) of the Sexual Offences Act and sentence him in line with Section 215 of the Criminal Procedure Code,” said SRM Lubia.
“In the case of assault, as highlighted in number one above, there is proof that the minor was assaulted. She suffered several injuries, as highlighted in the PRC form and P3 form. The perpetrator has been proven to be the accused person. The accused person is guilty of the offence of assault, contrary to Section 251 of the penal code. He is convicted in line with Section 215 of the Criminal Procedure Code,” she stated.
By Wangari Mwangi
