By P, KNA
A 21-year-old man from Gituro village in Kahuro Sub-county has been sentenced to one year in prison or pay a fine of Sh50,000 after pleading guilty to assaulting a nine-year-old girl.
The accused, Gideon Kago Mitchel, was charged with unlawfully assaulting the minor on August 26 at around 12:30 p.m. The court heard that he slapped the girl on the back of her head and pushed her against a door, causing bodily harm.
During mitigation, Kago pleaded for a non-custodial sentence, promising to reform and quit smoking cannabis. He further assured the court of compliance with any probation terms.
The court was informed that the accused had a history of threatening the family. Although earlier charges had been withdrawn after he promised to reform, he allegedly returned to his old ways within two months.
The victim and her mother opposed leniency. The minor testified that the accused had threatened to kill her, her siblings and their mother, warning that they would be buried in a hole he had dug.
Her mother, who is paralyzed, also recounted her ordeal. She told the court that the accused once stormed into her bedroom and slapped her, and when her daughter tried to intervene, he assaulted the child as well.
She added that Kago had told her: “I’ve dug a hole and you don’t know why. One day I will kill you and your children and bury you all, because you previously reported me to the police and I was jailed. Now that I’m out, I must kill.”
In his defense, Kago denied the assault, claiming he only intervened in a fight between his brother and a neighbor. He insisted he was wrongly accused.
The prosecution, however, argued that his repeated threats and violent behavior posed a serious danger to the family.
Delivering the ruling, Resident Magistrate Dorence Soy said imprisonment was necessary to protect the victims and deter similar offences.
Kago was sentenced to pay a Sh50,000 fine or serve one year in prison.