A Bomet court has sentenced three men to 35 years imprisonment after being found guilty of gang raping.
The three convicts: Carlos Sigei, Weldon Sigei and Anderson Sigei, who are brothers, were arrested in December 2023 upon being accused of that heinous crime.
The three are said to have gang-raped a woman in Bomet county, Chepalungu sub-county, Chebanyiny village on 23rd December. The suspects who were since convicted were arrested after a clip of their alleged assault widely circulated on social media.
Appearing before Chief Magistrate Esther Booke, the three were charged with gang rape contrary to Section 10 of the Sexual Offences Act No. 3 of 2006.
“According to the charge sheet, the offenders jointly with others not before the court, wilfully and unlawfully raped the complainant without her consent.” Said Booke, the presiding magistrate
In her judgment, Magistrate Booke said she had considered the mitigation and the victim impact assessment report, but found the offences grave and traumatising. This, she said, was enabled by the widely circulated video, which stigmatised the victim.
The defendants, in an attempt to seek leniency or be exonerated by the court, stated that the said act had been staged by the victim and her boyfriend, a claim that the magistrate dismissed. The magistrate further shot down what she termed as the defendant’s attempt to drag the victim’s boyfriend’s name into the claim, stating that the boyfriend was innocent.
“The sentence is necessary not only as punishment, but also to allow the offenders to undergo rehabilitation so they can reintegrate responsibly into society upon release”, said magistrate Brooke
With Gender-Based Violence cases becoming prevalent in Kenya, Stella Seurey, a GBV activist from Bomet, celebrated the ruling, stating that it will be a deterrence mechanism for sexualised offenders, particularly in Bomet, where the vice has been rampant. The ruling was in the same strength welcomed by Principal Prosecution Counsel Peter Wainaina.
“This will send a strong warning to perpetrators of sexual violence”, said Wainaina
With the ruling stated to count from April 2024, the court granted the convicts 14 days to appeal.
Leave a comment