The accused, Mwakombe Katana Karisa, who worked as a barber, is reported to have accosted the student as she was heading to school on the morning of July 10, 2024 at Kasameni Village in Kilifi County.
The court heard that the accused, armed with a knife and a bottle, he threatened and strangled the girl before forcibly removing her clothes and sexually assaulting her.
According to the ODPP, shortly after the attack, an independent witness encountered the complainant, observed that her school uniform was soiled, and received her immediate report of the rape.
“Medical evidence presented by the prosecution confirmed a recent sexual assault, including a freshly broken hymen and bleeding. Further, forensic analysis detected spermatozoa on exhibits recovered during investigations,” said the ODPP.
“DNA profiling conclusively linked biological material recovered from the exhibits to the accused, corroborating the complainant’s account and placing him at the scene of the crime.”
The prosecution’s evidence overwhelmingly placed the suspect at the scene and conclusively identified him as the perpetrator.
In sentencing the accused to 15 years’ imprisonment, the court underscored the gravity of the offence and the need to protect vulnerable members of society from sexual violence.
