Landmark sentence for sexual offence

Kenyan lawmakers have welcomed an historic court ruling, in which a man convicted of raping a four-year-old girl was jailed for life, terming it an important step towards deterring rising cases of sexual violence against children in the country. The 18-year-old offender, Paul Ngure Ngigi, was sentenced on Monday after pleading guilty in a trial described as one of the shortest-ever. This was also the harshest penalty ever served in Kenya for a sexual offence. The incident, which has received extensive attention in the local media, sparked outrage among the Kenyan public. Justus Kivindyo, a legal assistant with the Nairobi based NGO, CRADLE [Child Rights Advisory Documentation Legal Centre], told IRIN the sentence would serve as a deterrent against sexual offences targeting children. "This is a good sign. I am glad because people will now know that they cannot get away with such offences anymore," Kivindyo said. "Now everyone knows that if you rape a child, then you get a life sentence." The landmark judgement was made possible by the recently passed Criminal Amendment Bill, which raised the penalty for child rape to a mandatory life sentence. The bill, approved by parliament in July, also raised the age of sexual consent from 14 to 16 years. Hailing the judgement, Joyce Majiwa, Kenyan chairperson of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), said the new law had helped overcome one of the biggest legal hurdles faced by victims of sexual violence in Kenya. "If it were not for the amendment, the offender would have walked off with a very light sentence, served at the discretion of the magistrate," she said. Majiwa said her organisation would now push for another law aimed at providing compensation and psycho-social needs for victims. "Our next step now is to test the law and see if victims can be compensated for the serious physical and psychological trauma," she said.