Meru man pleads guilty to marrying 17-year-old girl

A man shocked a Meru Magistrate’s Court after he claimed that the 17-year old girl he was accused of defiling was his wife.

Mr Rogers Kariuki told Meru Resident Magistrate Edward Tsimonjero on Monday that the court ought to release him since they had lived as man and wife for seven years.

Mr Kariuki was charged with defiling the minor between 2014 and March 29, 2018, at Gitimbine area of Meru County.

PLEADED GUILTY

The accused, who is in early 30s, however pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of touching a minor’s private parts, prompting Mr Tsimonjero to ask him if he understood the gravity of the charges he was facing.

“Do you know the weight of the charges you are facing,” the judge asked the accused.

“She is my wife and we have been married for seven years,” Mr Kariuki told the judge.

State Counsel James Kinyua informed the court that the suspect was an escapee who had absconded court in 2015.

DENIED BAIL

Mr Kinyua successfully applied for the court to deny the accused bail.

“The accused had been on the run for a long period until a warrant of arrest, which was never executed because he could not be traced by the investigating officer, was issued.

This prompted prosecution to have the case withdrawn under section 87(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code on June 12, 2018,” Mr Kinyua told the court.

Mr Tsimonjero, who ruled that since the accused had earlier absconded and he was not fit to be released on bond, referred the matter to probation officer for a social inquiry report.

The case has been set for hearing on April 10, 2019.