A hawker who allegedly raped his housemate’s friend in Nairobi is facing rape charges contrary to section 3 (1) (a) of the Sexual Offences Act (SOA) of 2006.
Ben Marita Mokema is accused of raping the victim inside a house he shares with his roommate in Fuata Nyayo slums in South B, Nairobi on July 18, 2023.
Mr Mokema is facing an alternative charge of committing an indecent act with an adult. He has been charged with intentionally touching private parts of the complainant identified in court documents as SM on the same date inside his house.
He was also charged with an offence of resisting arrest by police officers in due execution of their duties in contravention of section 253 (b) of the Penal Code.
The accused is reported to have resisted arrest by Corporal Stephen Njoka, Police Constables Olivia Chonde and Lilian Nyamboke who had gone to arrest him from his house in the slums after the complainant reported the incident at Mariguini Police Post.
SM had contacted Mr Mokema seeking to speak to his roommate because she wanted to pick an item she had helped him with but he had already left the house. Mr Mokema however informed her that the item was still in the house and told her to go and pick it.
They agreed on a point where Mr Mokema would meet her because she did not know the directions to the house. They met as agreed and proceeded to the house. On arrival, Mr Mokema is said to have locked SM inside using a padlock while threatening her with a knife before he undressed and raped her.
The complainant told the police that she screamed for help but the accused person was playing loud music in the house and therefore the neighbours could not hear her.
The suspect allegedly raped her twice and locked her inside the house where and went away before returning later and raped her for the third time.
When Mr Mokema’s housemate returned in the company of a woman and found the complainant inside the house, the suspect claimed that SM was his girlfriend.
Both men went out leaving the two women in the house and SM informed the other woman what had happened. The woman tried helping SM with her phone to contact her husband but Mr Mokema returned to the house before she could call.
The other woman later left the house with Mr Mokema’s housemate leaving SM alone with the suspect. SM later escaped and met her relatives who escorted her to the police post where she made a report before proceeding to hospital.
Police officers went to arrest Mr Mokema the same day but he allegedly became violent, caused a commotion and injured one of them before neighbours joined in and helped the officers subdue him.
Mr Mokema denied the charges before Chief Magistrate Francis Kyambia of Makadara Law Courts and was granted a bond of Sh100,000.
Prosecution counsel Cosmas Kyambia made an application for Mr Mokema to be detained at the Industrial Area Police Station where he is wanted for another offence, before he is charged again. The cases he denied will be mentioned on July 31, 2023 before trial starts on January 17, 2024.
