A woman who allegedly tortured her five-year-old stepdaughter in Kariobangi, Nairobi, is facing charges of subjecting a child to cruel punishment.
PA, 35, is accused of having meted cruelty on the child on December 14 in contravention of section 18 (1) as read with section 20 of the Children’s Act of 2001.
She is facing an alternative charge of assault and causing actual bodily harm to the child in contravention of section 251 of the Penal Code, where she is accused of unlawfully assaulting and injuring JO.
The minor had been left under the stepmother’s care by her father as he travelled to his rural home.
She went to play outside their house and was allegedly tortured with a plastic bucket’s handle after returning home.
She sustained physical injuries all over her body during the alleged assault.
Neighbours found the minor on a balcony writhing in pain with injuries all over her body and escorted her to the Kariobangi police station.
Police officers visited the house and later arrested PA before taking the minor to hospital. The officers later summoned JO’s father during investigations, and he is listed as a witness in the case.
The suspect denied the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Mary Njagi of the Makadara Law Courts.
She was remanded in custody until January 31, 2024, when the court will receive the Children’s Officers report before setting bail and bond terms for her.
