Man appeals 45-year jail term only to be slapped with life in prison

BY OLIVIA MUNGWANA

A decision by Jacob Mutunga to appeal against a 45-year jail term has earned him a life sentence.

Mr. Mutunga was found guilty of defiling a neighbour’s child.

He is now likely to spend the remaining days of his life behind bars after the High Court found that the trial magistrate erred in convicting him.

Justice Robert Limo last week ruled that the sentence should be increased to life, noting that section 8(2) of the Sexual Offences Act provides for only one sentence, life imprisonment.

According to Section 8 (2) of the Act, a person who commits an offence of defilement with a child aged eleven years or less shall upon conviction be sentenced to life imprisonment.