Moses Omrono v Republic [2017] KEHC 2965 (KLR)

Facts

The appellant was charged with defiling a 16-year-old girl, S.A., at a river. The prosecution's witnesses testified that the appellant took the girl to the bush, removed her clothes, and had sex with her for about 5 minutes.

Issues

1. The evidence given by the complainant amounts to rape but not defilement.
2. The trial magistrate did not consider the complainant's age and her failure to report the incident to her mother.
3. The trial magistrate failed to consider the mother's motivation for implicating the appellant.
4. The trial magistrate erred in convicting the appellant based on the doctor's evidence of pregnancy without defilement.
5. The trial magistrate erred in convicting the appellant without proper findings based on belief and hearsay.

Reasoning

The court found that the evidence did not support a conviction for defilement, and the trial magistrate erred in convicting the appellant based on the complainant's testimony and the doctor's evidence.

Outcome

Appeal successful, conviction and sentence set aside