By Wanja Waweru
A man who, at the age of 19, was found guilty of defiling a 16-year-old girl and, following an unsuccessful appeal, received an additional sentence for a different allegation of an indecent act, is now at liberty.
In 2014, Stephen Ouma Ogola had intercourse with the child in Homa Bay and was charged with defilement.
He was also accused of engaging in an indecent act with a juvenile. Due to evidence of penetration from the girl’s medical checkup, the court found him guilty of the alternative allegation.
He got ten years in prison.
He would next go to the local High Court to challenge the conviction.
He started crying and wailing. Judge David Majanja of the High Court was obliged to hear the first appeal for the correct reasons.
As rightfully demanded by the first appeal, Judge David Majanja at the High Court re-examined the evidence, found Ogola guilty of the substitute charge, and sentenced him to prison.
This time, the judge gave him a 15-year sentence.
The 2015 ruling was a hollow win for him since although the court overturned his defiling conviction, it nevertheless found him guilty of an indecent act.
Ogola returned before the Court of Appeals in September 2020 to try his luck once more. This time, he focused on the punishment rather than the conviction.
The arguments put out in support of the appeal resemble a statement of mitigating circumstances.
