Woman who defiled minor in Kitale slapped with 15 years

In April 2015, Jane Gichuhi invited a high school student into her matrimonial home in Machinjoni Village, Trans-Nzoia County.

Taking advantage of her husband’s absence, she served the minor tea and begged for friendship.

BAIT

With the cup of tea, the then 25-year-old woman baited and wormed her way into the heart of the then 16-year-old young man.

Weeks later, the bond between the mother of one and the minor, from a neighbouring home, grew stronger and stronger.

Their meetings also became more regular; almost every time Jane's husband left the home to fend for his young family.

With cups of tea and other bribes, Jane, a businesswoman, managed to narrow the distance between her and the Form Three student of Friends Bwake Secondary in Kitale town.

She moved even closer. Closer than close.

'LOVER'

She stopped referring to the minor— whose name has been withheld for legal, privacy and ethical reasons— as “my friend” and gave him the impossible title: “my lover”.

The gullible and defenceless minor gave in.

They started having sex— first in her matrimonial bed and later, other places, including the minor’s simba.

And for this, Jane has earned 15 years behind bars for defilement and committing an indecent act on a minor.

A Kitale court on Tuesday slapped the woman with the tough sentence after finding her guilty of having sex with an underage man.

Although she denied the charges, the court found that she committed the offences between April 26 and May 11, 2015 at Machinjoni area.

HOLIDAY

The court’s decision followed a case in which the minor was the complainant.

According to the student, Jane lured him into sex in her bed on April 29, 2015 when he visited her home.

He was on school holiday after First Term, he told Kitale Resident Magistrate Grace Sitati.

From there, they engaged in sexual intercourse in his lion or her home.

Not once. Many times, he said.

But while Jane was happy with her side dish and new-found ‘love’, neighbours took issue with the illicit affair.

SHOCKER

They reported her to the minor’s mother who in turn informed the police.

The love affair and Jane’s trysts came to an abrupt end when she was arrested and dragged to court.

In her defence, the woman pleaded with the court for leniency, saying she had a family and a young child.

She also said she was sickly and the sole bread winner for her family, adding that she had a lot of business debts to settle.

APPEAL

However, Ms Sitati found that the prosecution proved beyond doubt that the accused had sex with a minor against the Sexual Offences law .

"Mitigation is considered, however, in view of the limitation in sentencing under section 8 (4) sexual offence Act is that I must follow the law,” ruled Ms Sitati. 

“Doing the best I can I do is to sentence the accused to 15 years imprisonment.”

Jane, whose photos the magistrate stopped journalists from taking, has 14 days to appeal.

Harry Misiko contributed to this report.