A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of defiling a four-year-old girl in Busia County in a case that relied on the child’s testimony, medical evidence and corroborating witness accounts.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) secured the conviction following a successful prosecution that proved the offence beyond reasonable doubt.
In a judgment delivered on October 29, 2026, Busia Magistrate’s Court, presided over by Hon. J.D. Ochieng, found the accused guilty of defilement contrary to Section 8(1), as read with Section 8(2) of the Sexual Offences Act, 2006.
The court established that the prosecution had proved the victim’s age, penetration and the positive identification of the perpetrator.
The offence reportedly occurred on diverse dates between October 14 and 21, 2022, in a village in Busia County.
The court heard that the accused lured the child into a sugarcane plantation, where he sexually assaulted her after allegedly offering her white ants.
The prosecution presented five witnesses, including the child’s mother, grandmother, the minor, the investigating officer and a clinical officer who produced medical records documenting the injuries sustained.
The child’s mother told the court that she discovered redness, discharge and pain in the girl’s genital area while bathing her on October 21, 2022.
She subsequently took the child to hospital and reported the incident to the police.
The grandmother also testified that she had noticed swelling in the child’s genital area several days earlier after the minor complained of pain.
In her testimony, the four-year-old girl gave an account of how the accused allegedly lured her into the sugarcane plantation using an offer of white ants before sexually assaulting her.
She identified the accused, whom she knew as a neighbour, as the person responsible for the offence.
Medical evidence presented in court revealed that an examination conducted on October 21, 2022, established genital bruising, swelling, redness and watery discharge.
Although the clinical examination found the hymen intact, the court held that the injuries were consistent with partial penetration.
The magistrate further observed that the law does not require complete penetration to establish the offence of defilement, noting that an intact hymen does not automatically rule out the offence.
The accused denied the allegations, with his defence claiming that the case had been fabricated due to a land dispute between the two families.
However, the court dismissed the claims, finding that they did not sufficiently explain the medical evidence or the child’s identification of the accused.
The magistrate ruled that the child’s testimony was credible and sufficiently supported by the medical findings and other evidence presented by the prosecution.
Following the evaluation of the evidence, the court found that the prosecution had established the charge beyond reasonable doubt and convicted the accused.
He was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment.
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