An eight-year-old girl left the Kabarnet Court astonished on Friday when she denied allegations made by her mother that her father had defiled her.
The minor appeared before Principal Magistrate Edward Mulochi in a case where her father was accused of defiling her multiple times between January and September of this year at their home in Barwessa, Baringo North. During her testimony, she stated that no such incident ever occurred.
The girl explained that she had once complained to her mother, Patricia Kibowen, about a stomach ache after eating uncooked local food called ‘githeri’, which led to her being taken to the hospital. However, she claimed that her story was misrepresented.
“Baba hakunifanyia kitu…” said the girl, who was well versed in Kiswahili, while being cross-examined by the prosecution counsel led by Rebecca Bartilol. She confirmed that although the family slept in the same bed, her father never sexually molested her.
Following this turn of events, the mother was summoned to the courtroom, where she confessed to having concocted the story against her husband, whom she accused of neglecting her and their children while living with his first wife.
“I was very bitter about my husband and saw an opportunity when my daughter complained of a stomach ache, which made me lie to a doctor during her check-up in order to fix him,” she said.
The mother pleaded for forgiveness, explaining that she felt overwhelmed by issues related to school fees and other household needs that required her husband’s support.
The court was informed that the mother had filed a false statement at the Kabarnet Police Station, before involving officials from the Children’s Department, human rights activists, and the media to orchestrate her husband’s downfall.
In her submissions, Bartilol argued that the case was fabricated with the intent to punish the accused and called for the arrest and prosecution of the mother for providing false information to a police officer.
She contended that continuing to detain the accused based on falsehoods would result in a grave injustice.
“I request that the case be marked as closed and that the accused be discharged unconditionally until he can be lawfully held,” stated the prosecution counsel.
In his ruling, Magistrate Mulochi granted the prosecution’s application to close the case.
Upon reviewing the evidence, the magistrate determined that no case had been established against the accused and proceeded to discharge him under section 210 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
