A 59-year-old man has been released from prison after the courts overturned his 50-year sentence.

Joseph Kihara successfully appealed his conviction in a case where he was accused of defiling a 10-year-old girl.

PHOTO | COURTESY court

Mathias Okuche, the Nyeri Principal Magistrate, condemned Kihara after he was found guilty. He was accused of perpetrating the offense between January and July 2018 in Kangemi village. In his appeal, Kihara claimed that the trial court failed to detect the contrived case.

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“The trial court imposed a 50-year sentence, which is excessive considering my age, which is 59 years. It means I would be released at the age of 109,” the appellant argued.

PHOTO | COURTESY court

Court of Appeal Judge Justice Kizito Murage, who delivered the judgment virtually in Mombasa, stated that the duty court had the advantage of viewing witnesses' demeanor and hearing their testimony firsthand.

“The appellant was convicted based on circumstantial evidence having been identified by the minor. There is nothing other than the minor's allegation to tie the appellant to the offence, even circumstantial evidence does not show that the appellant was the perpetrator,” he said.

"I therefore set aside the sentence and conviction and set the appellant free unless otherwise lawfully held.”