Why Malindi court freed German tourist in defilement case

A German national, 78, charged with defiling a minor in Kilifi County has bee freed after a Malindi court faulted prosecution for poor handling of the case. The man claimed he was framed by the child's mother who was his girlfriend for refusing to give her pocket money. FILE | PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The German tourist was accused of defiling his girlfriend's eight-year-old daughter at Majengo in Malindi earlier this year.
  • The court said the mother and her child gave contradictory statements on what happened yet they were both present when the assault occured.
  • Magistrate questioned the manner in which the clothes of the accused where handled and also why complainants took long to report case yet the police station is stone throw away.
  • The man told the court he was framed by the child's mother for refusing to give her Sh200,000 she demanded as pocket money.

A 78-year-old German tourist charged with defiling an eight-year-old girl has been acquitted by a Malindi court after the prosecution witnesses contradicted themselves and failed to provide sufficient evidence.

Malindi Chief Magistrate Julie Oseko said the prosecution failed to prove that the German national was guilty of committing the offence on February 2, 2019, at Majengo in Malindi, Kilifi County.

In her judgment, Ms Oseko said there were a lot of contradictions in the case after the medical and treatment reports of the minor raised pertinent issues.

Mr Otto had been charged with sexually assaulting the minor and committing an indecent act by touching her private parts.

But the magistrate said the accused person was not guilty as charged.

‘‘I give the accused person benefit of doubt, the prosecution could not prove its case, the medical reports were contradicting,’’ she said.

The magistrate noted that the (victims’) child’s mother, who was a girlfriend of the accused person, gave a weak testimony.

The magistrate further noted that the incident took place inside the house of the accused when the mother was present and they took more than one and a half hours to reach the police station to file a report.

‘‘From the police station, one can see the accused person’s house [yet] the complainant and the child were at the police station…almost two hours after the incident,’’ she said.

Ms Oseko also said the mother and minor testimonies contradicted each other despite having been together when the alleged incident occurred.

In addition, the court faulted the manner in which the clothes of the accused were handled noting that the blood stains changed from red to yellow.

Ms Oseko said while the court can ignore minor contradictions, the defilement case against the German tourist were too many.

The magistrate further said the doctor who testified in court was not the one who filed the report and that the treatment report relied on P3 forms that did not bear the Malindi Sub-County Hospital code.

"During the hearing, the blood-stained clothes were not brought to court and that the prosecution had to recall two witnesses that is when the clothes were recalled," she added.

During his testimony, the tourist had claimed that his girlfriend framed him after he refused to give her Sh200,000 as pocket money, three days before travelling back to Germany.