A 62-year old man was on Wednesday slapped with a 10-year jail term by a Murang’a court after he was found guilty of sodomising a 16-year old boy.

Sodomy is a criminal offence in Kenya, as are same-gender sexual activities – with or without consent. Culturally, sodomy and rape are regarded in most Kenyan communities as an abomination that is punishable by permanent excommunication from the society where the offence occurred.

In extreme circumstances, the offenders in sodomy or rape incidents are stoned to death.

In Murang’a, central Kenya, Patrick Njoroge was found guilty of committing the heinous offence on January 12, 2024 at Muchungucha location of Murang’a County.

In his testimony the complainant, a mental patient, told the court the accused on the night of the January 24, 2024, arrived in the area where he lives with uncle and requested to be escorted. He narrated that when they reached at the accused’s home, Njoroge removed his clothes and ordered him to strip naked.

The complainant further said the accused took advantage of his disability to commit the heinous act and threatened him not to inform anyone on what transpired. The victim further narrated that he has known the accused person for a long time since he lives near their home and most times he sees him in a shop next to their home.

The uncle of the victim in his testimony told the court that he was at home asleep that night when the victim came to his house and told him that he had been at the accused’s house. He noted the boy explained what the neighbour had done to him, adding that he didn’t take any action at the moment as he was to report to work the following day.

He told the court that, later in the day the victim complained of pain during long calls prompting him to takes him to Murang’a Level 5 Hospital for medical examination. According to the medical report tabled in the court, the boy was sodomised and the act left with anal injuries.

In his defence, Njoroge who gave an unsworn testimony, said on the date in question he was at a bar in the neighbourhood for drinks and denied meeting his accuser and committing the offence. He accused the family of the victim of framing him for unknown reasons. He pleaded with the court to quash the case.

Probation report presented in the court indicated members of the local community condemned the offense and objected to a non-custodial sentence for the accused. In his mitigation, Njoroge pleaded for leniency requesting a non-custodial sentence claiming he has health challenges and in consideration of his advanced age.

He also asked the court to take into consideration the time he has spent in remand after he failed to raise the required bond.

Delivering the judgment, Senior Resident Magistrate Eric Musambai acknowledged the accused mitigation and took into consideration the period he has been in custody ordering the duration to be subtracted from the sentence term.

• A Tell / KNA report / By Bernard Munyao and Catherine Kamunyo