Father seeks to save 13 year-old son accused of raping niece
A father has moved to court in a bid to save his 13 year-old son who has been accused of defiling his four year-old niece.
The father, whose name cannot be published in order to protect the identity of the minors involved, has sued the Director of Public Prosecution, the National Police Service, the Attorney General, the Senior Resident Magistrate at Kandara law courts as well as the OCS in a police station in the said area.
He is challenging the prosecution of his son and wants it temporarily stopped.
VIOLATES MINOR’S RIGHTS
Through lawyer Stephen Arunda, the father claimed that the law used to charge his son relates to accused persons being adults hence it is discriminatory and violates the minor’s rights.
“Unless this matter is heard, urgently determined and a conservatory order is issued stopping the Sexual offence proceedings at the Kandara Magistrates Court, that child’s rights will adversely be affected considering that he is only 13 years old,” said Mr Arunda.
The minor has been charged with defilement contrary to Section 8(1) (2) of the Sexual Offences Act and committing an indecent act with a child contrary to Section 1(1) of the same law.
According to the parent, the dispute started last month, on February 22, when his wife came home from attending an all-night prayer session at around 5am. He claimed that she was shortly followed by police who accosted him while looking for their son.
He said the police agreed to release him when he promised to personally take his son at the Kawendo police station.
He claimed that he learnt that his brother’s wife had reported his son to the police for allegedly defiling her daughter on February 18 at around 7.30pm.
He claimed that the said offense was allegedly committed at their homestead which they all share.
LOCKED UP
He took his son to the police as agreed but he was immediately arrested and locked up over the weekend until February 25 when he was arraigned before a magistrate court.
His son was then charged with two offenses for allegedly having sex with a fellow minor. He is now out of police custody after the court freed him on a bond of Sh40,000.
In the filed case documents, the father claimed that persons involved in the alleged rape incident are both minors hence the issue of rape does not arise.
He further claimed that the age of the accused matters just like that of the victim since they are both under age children.
He alleged that his son’s best interest as a child were not taken into consideration as he was not interrogated in the presence of an adult or witness, was transported in a pick-up together with other adult accused persons and was also threatened by police officers.
He is also protesting the fact that the said minor was handcuffed hence the child has suffered stigma, fear, psychological depression which might affect his proper growth as well as development.
The sued parties have not yet responded to the case as the matter was filed yesterday at the High Court.