A 47-year-old woman was arraigned before an Eldoret court for allegedly subjecting her 11-year-old niece to prolonged torture, while the minor lived under her care.
Benadine Jepkemoi Cherotich, a cereal trader, pleaded not guilty to the charge of cruelty to a child when she appeared before Senior Resident magistrate Keyne Gweno.
The charges against her state that on diverse dates between November 2025 and May 2026 at Kapsoya estate in the outskirts of Eldoret City, Uasin Gishu County, being the guardian of the girl code-named P. J., willfully and unlawfully assaulted the said victim by beating her, an act that caused injuries to her health.
In a strange twist of events, the accused person is said to be an elder sister to the victim’s father.
She decided to take the girl to come and stay with her last year after her brother separated from his estranged wife.
According to the court document, the accused has been beating the girl with a copper wire on the back of her body, an act that has caused severe pain and injuries on her body and thighs.
The minor is said to have confided in her teachers about the trauma she was going through at the hands of her niece, forcing the teachers to contact the child officer in charge of Ainabkoi Sub County for her intervention in the matter.
On checking on her in the staff room, the tutors were shocked to see the back of the girl’s body and thighs, which were swollen, ostensibly from beatings at the hands of her guardian.
Surprisingly, her guardian did not even bother to take her to the hospital for treatment for the sustained injuries.
In his ruling, the Magistrate ordered that the suspect be granted a bond of Sh100,000 in default to pay a cash bail of Sh50,000.
Gweno, however, directed that the accused person will only be freed after the first witness, who is the victim, gives her evidence in court.
“The accused person will not be freed for now until the victim gives her evidence against her first before my court. Meanwhile she will remain behind bars at Eldoret GK women’s remand prison,” added Gweno.
The case will come up for pretrial on May 28, 2026.
By Ekuwam Sylvester
