Man, 50, faces defilement charges for marrying student, 16, under false pretenses
A 50-year-old man, Caleb Oguma, is currently facing charges of defilement under section 8 (1) (4) of the Sexual Offences Act (SOA) of 2006.
Oguma is accused of engaging in sexual acts with a 16-year-old girl whom he had promised to enroll in a tailoring course.
The alleged defilement occurred at their residence in Darfur area, Kariobangi, Nairobi, on various dates between August 1 and December 2, 2023.
In addition to the primary defilement charge, Oguma is also facing an alternative charge of committing an indecent act with a minor, as per section 11 (1) of the SOA.
This charge alleges that he intentionally and unlawfully touched the minor’s private parts with his genitals during the same period.
The suspect who hails from Migori county, had met the minor there and lured her to Nairobi after promising that he would take her for a tailoring course.
She was a form three student at a school there.
She accompanied him to Nairobi after accepting his offer to enroll her for the course.
However, upon arrival in Nairobi, he turned her to his wife, and they continued living together until a Nyumba Kumi official established that Oguma had married a minor. The official had questioned her after suspecting that she was a minor.
She was found in the suspect’s house and she told the Nyumba Kumi official that she is married to Oguma.
The official mobilized members of the public and escorted the minor to the Kariobangi police station.
Police escorted the minor to Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital (MLKH) in Embakasi, where she was examined and confirmed to have been defiled.
Oguma was traced and arrested the next day.
He denied the charges before Principal Magistrate Irene Gichobi of the Makadara Law Courts.
The suspect was released on a bond of Sh200 000 pending trial. The case will be mentioned on January 10, 2024, for a pretrial.