Reprieve for jailed rugby players as High Court orders their retrial in rape case
Kenyan rugby players Alex Olaba and Frank Wanyama, who are serving 15 years in prison each for raping a woman in 2018, have gotten a reprieve after the High Court ordered their retrial.
The two were handed the sentence by chief magistrate Martha Mutuku of Milimani Law Courts on August 16, 2019.
GANG-RAPE
The two were convicted for gang-raping musician Wendy Kemunto on February 10, 2018 at a house party at Seefar apartments in Nyayo Highrise.
Section 10 of the Sexual Offences Act of 2006 states that any person found guilty of gang-rape is liable upon conviction to imprisonment for a term of not less than 15 years.
Grace Ngenye Macharia directed a repeat trial for the two after they successfully appealed.
They had pleaded for non-custodial sentences after the conviction, through a lawyer.
They said, through the lawyer, that they were all drunk and the 24-year-old woman had elected to spend the night at the apartment because she was drunk and she later tried to extort money from them.
RUGBY CAREERS
The events that led to their incarceration started at a party in Spring Valley.
The complainant, a musician, said one of the players lured her to his house after they left the party. She claimed the two later raped her in turns as she remained in and out of consciousness.
Olaba, 23, and Wanyama, 22, have both represented the national sevens rugby team, Shujaa.
Olaba and Wanyama started their rugby careers at Strathmore University with Strathmore Leos before switching to Kenya Harlequins.
They have been in jail since August 2019.