Kericho senior resident magistrate Aziza Ajwang convicted a 35-year-old man to serve 40 years in jail after he was found guilty of defiling his three-year-old niece.

The magistrate said the prosecution proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The offence was committed on September 7 last year at Chemoiben village in the Bureti sub-county of Kericho county.

The court heard that the minor’s mother was preparing dinner for her family at around 7 pm when her sister-in-law and neighbour entered her kitchen without her three-year-old daughter who they had earlier left with on an errand to the local shop on a fateful day.

When she asked where her baby was, she informed her that the accused had taken her to a nearby shop to buy her sweets.

The mother opted to go look for her daughter, and on arrival at the gate of her home at around 8 pm, she met the accused carrying the child, who was crying and immediately took the girl from him.

The offender asked the accused why the minor was crying, and he told her that a thorn had pricked her, but on checking her daughter, whose clothes were soiled, she found no injuries and walked back to her house, where she had dinner together with her family before retiring to bed.

The complainant cried throughout the night and, the following morning, refused to leave her bed, prompting her mother to alert a neighbour who came along with a village elder.

Upon examining her daughter, they decided to take the minor to Kapkatet District Hospital for medical examination, where she was treated, and the matter was reported to the police.

A clinical officer who examined the minor told the court that there was partial penetration.

A P3 form and lab reports tabled before the court confirmed that attempted penetration had taken place.

On his part, the defendant said that the accused gave an unsworn testimony where he denied committing the offence, but he did not deny the fact that he brought home the minor who was crying and told the mother of the child that a thorn had pricked her.

In mitigation, the accused informed the court that he has three children who depended on him and pleaded for leniency.

However, the magistrate found the accused guilty and handed him a 40-year in jail.