Man Gets Life Imprisonment for Marrying a Ten-Year-Old Schoolgirl
A Narok Court has imposed a life sentence on a 50-year-old man who pleaded guilty to defiling and then marrying a ten-year-old schoolgirl.
Saigulu Ololosereka, appeared before a Narok Senior Resident Magistrate Phyllis Shinyada, and was charged with defiling a 10-year-old girl and then marrying her in 2019.
In her judgment, Ms. Shinyada said that the man had been warned of the magnitude of the marriage after pleading guilty to the crimes. The accused said that he had married the girl because he was given her by her parents.
“The offense committed is grave and barbaric. The last three years must have been the most horrific years for the victim,” said the Magistrate.
The Senior Magistrate added that the horrific act had caused irreversible physiological and physical repercussions because the young girl had undergone Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) before she was married and had also undergone a caesarian section before giving birth.
The Judge said that the accused had exhibited no remorse even after being warned of the magnitude of the crime. He had insisted that the young girl he had been married to for three years was actually his wife.
“He merely asked for pardon and reinstated that he did not take the girl by force but the parents had handed her for marriage, meaning he feels entitled to have the girl as his wife,” said the Senior Magistrate.
Ms. Shinyada said that the prevalence of such offenses in a society where girls are being exchanged for livestock or other cheap items calls for a severe sentence that will serve as a deterrent to others harboring similar intentions.
The magistrate said that she had taken into account the age of the young girl, the fact that she had been defiled to the point of being pregnant, and that the man had been defiling the minor for the past three years.
Ololosereka was sentenced to life in jail for the first count of defilement and concurrent three years for the second count of early marriage.
The State Counsel prosecutor Tito Wanga expressed satisfaction with the judgment owing to the gravity of the crime.
The defendant was told that he could appeal if he was unsatisfied with the verdict within fourteen days.
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