HIV-positive man bags life imprisonment for defiling 11-year-old girl in Kenya

A 43-year-old Kenyan HIV-positive man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for defiling an 11-year-old girl after a year-long trial.

The convicted rapist, Antony Saiso recently at appeared at the Milimani Law Court in Nairobi where he was sentenced to life imprisonment on the charges of defiling his victim (Name Withheld) on the 25th of June 2016, at Kibiko Estate in Ngong, Kajiado County.

Saiso stunned the court when he told the trial magistrate Ms. Hellen Onkwani to direct that the girl is examined if she is HIV positive, just like him.

“I urge this court to order that the complainant is examined to establish her status because I am HIV positive so that she can be put on antiretrovirals before it is too late,” the court heard.

Passing the sentence, Ms. Onkwani said Saiso needs to be isolated from the society since he is “dangerous.”

The magistrate said girls and women need to be protected against people with behaviour like that of the rapist who attacked the girl as she was returning home from drawing water and raped her.

Ms. Onkwani said adults need to know about their responsibility to protect the rights of young girls, young boys, and women from all manner of atrocities being meted against them.

According to her, the young are vulnerable and those with “ evil appetites like the accused (Saiso) need to be punished severely.”

The magistrate said the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused sexually abused the girl and “warned her of dire consequences if she disclosed the act to anybody.”

The court said the prosecution availed medical records that showed the extent of injuries inflicted on the primary school pupil.

The prosecution had asked the magistrate to treat him as a first offender and impose a harsh custodial sentence.

“The offense you committed is serious and you need a stiff penalty for others who share habits like you to learn a lesson. Courts have a duty to protect those who vulnerable in the society,” Ms. Onkwani said.

Antony Saiso has 14 days to appeal against the sentence.