A 13-year old girl from Ndhiwa Sub-county, who is mentally challenged, was left pregnant after being defiled by an unknown man.

Her mother came to know of the injustice that had been committed towards her daughter in early March, when she noticed changes in the teenager’s body.

Apparently, the minor began having morning sickness and gaining weight.

The mother thought that her daughter was suffering from Malaria but had her own suspicions and upon taking her to the hospital, the reality of the matter hit her.

They could not establish when the unfortunate incident occurred as many days had passed by and evidence lost. The girl was however able to provide a name of the man she accused of being responsible and that marked the beginning of the family’s fight for justice.

The suspect was arrested and arraigned in court but there was no sufficient evidence against him.This forced Magistrate Brian Murangasia to close the case and ordered his release.

“This file is marked as closed. The respondent be released forthwith unless lawfully held,” the magistrate ruled.

Why the case could no longer proceed

The decision was arrived by the fact that the minor is incapacitated to provide her own statement.

Additionally, the prosecution is required prove beyond any reasonable doubt that the accused person was responsible for the crime, by establishing elements such as age, penetration and identification of the suspect.

The prosecution had however been presented with the mother’s statement and that of the investigating officer as well as a medical form confirming that the teenager was defiled.

“In the minor’s mother’s statement, the mother states that she suspected that her child was pregnant and upon asking her she stated that it was Baba wa duka who was responsible,” read the prosecutor’s letter to the Ndhiwa police station OCS.

The mother’s statement was not strong enough to support the case as it is considered as hearsay, which is not admissible in law .

Aside from that, there is an existing land dispute between the family of the accused and that of the victim. The accused had filed a complaint at Ndhiwa police station in February accusing the victim’s mother of falsely accusing him of impregnating her daughter.

Recommendation

The prosecutor recommended that the family to be patient so that the girl can deliver before DNA is conducted on the child to establish whether it matches the suspect’s for the case to be re-opened.

After that, the prosecution will request the court to declare the victim a vulnerable witness and therefore her mother will testify on her behalf.

The girl is expected to deliver around November.