A court in Shanzu, Mombasa county has convicted a 21-year-old man to 10 years in prison after he was found guilty of raping a mentally ill woman.
Shanzu principal magistrate Yusuf Shikanda in his judgment noted that the act that was committed by Dickson Joshua against a mentally impaired innocent woman was heinous.
“In view of the foregoing, I find that the prosecution has proven its case against the accused person beyond a reasonable doubt. Consequently, I hereby find the accused person guilty and as the glove fits, the accused person is convicted of the offence of Rape contrary to section 3(1)(a) and (b) as read in section 3(3) of the Sexual Offences Act. Having convicted the accused person on the main count of rape,” he said.
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"During the hearing of the case, I was able to notice that the complainant was mentally impaired to some extent. She was slower than average people of her age. However; the complainant was able to express herself to the best of her ability. The evidence of the complainant was that the accused person did bad things to her. She did not expressly state that the accused person inserted his penis into her vagina but demonstrated the act of sexual intercourse by moving her body,” the magistrate added.
No penetration
However, the court noted that a Dr Gabriel Mungola testified that although there was no penetration there was an attempt to penetrate the vagina and that he relied on the evidence of abrasions on the fourchette.
“The doctor’s statement is indicative of the fact that there was an object inside the vagina of the complainant save that it did not break the hymen,” Shikanda said.
The magistrate, in his judgment, observed that the complainant further touched the area around her genitalia and stated that she felt pain there when bad things were done to her.
“The accused person took advantage of her vulnerability and violated her. This kind of infraction ought to be deterred; the circumstances under which the offence was committed are aggravating,” he noted.
The accused person was charged with the offence of Rape contrary to section 3(1)(a) as read with 3(3) of the Sexual Offences Act.
The particulars of the offence are; "That on 11/6/2019 at Mgongeni area in Kisauni Sub-county within Mombasa County, the accused person intentionally and unlawfully caused his penis to penetrate the vagina of MN."
