It is early morning and a frightened child holds a caregiver’s hand outside the Kisii Law Courts, once again waiting for a case that has already dragged on for months.
For the minor, each adjournment means another missed day of school, another painful recall of traumatic events and another encounter with a world that is inconsiderate of her innocence.
In Kisii, as it happens in many parts of the country, the pursuit of justice is a long and exhausting journey marked by mounting transport costs, emotional distress and growing uncertainty of when their cases would be concluded.
Often, as sexual offence cases drag on in the courts, survivors and their families are left wondering whether justice delayed is slowly becoming justice denied.
An instance is Sexual offence case No. E128 of 2025, Republic v Solomon Otieno, which is still pending before a Kisii court, as justice appears elusive even as the pursuit goes on.
A spot check at the Judiciary’s Public Information desk reveals that the accused took a plea in December 2025.
Since then, the case has been mentioned five times, with a second hearing scheduled for 27 July 2026.
As days turn into months, delays in the hearing of sexual offence cases deny victims timely justice and expose gaps in the justice system, including claims of missing police files, absent witnesses and a lack of legal representation for minors.
This even as Article 159 of the Constitution of Kenya mandates that justice shall be administered without delay or undue regard to procedural technicalities.
Judicial guidelines also indicate that matters involving children should be concluded within six months.
A 2026 report by Midrift Hurinet, in collaboration with Childright, on the protection of children from sexual exploitation and abuse shows a continued rise in cases of defilement and sodomy in the country.
The report reveals that the majority of survivors are aged between six and 11 years, accounting for 39 per cent of cases.
It further notes that the most common age group of survivors in Kisii and Busia is 16–17 years, accounting for 50 percent and 62 percent respectively.
According to the report, courts in some counties expedited cases involving child sexual exploitation within six months.
Among cases reviewed in Kisumu, Nairobi and Mombasa, 50 per cent, 66.7 per cent and 71.4 per cent respectively were concluded within six months of being reported.
“While the average duration for concluding child sexual exploitation and abuse cases in the three counties was within six months, other counties, including Garissa, Busia and Kisii, recorded durations ranging between two and three years,” the report states.
The Jukwaa la Usalama Report (2025) by the Ministry of Interior and National Administration also highlights an increase in cases of child sexual abuse, including defilement, as reported by local administrators and women leaders during a forum held in Kisii.
Anita Nduhukire, an advocate who coordinates pro bono lawyers in Kisii County, says claims of missing files are a common reason cited by prosecutors when seeking adjournments in defilement cases.
“For instance, if the police file is missing, you are likely to be given another date. If the court is not sitting on the subsequent date, you will definitely be given another date later in the year,” she says.
The advocate adds that police transfers have also contributed to prolonged trials because investigating officers are often reluctant to take up defilement cases.
As a result, Nduhukire says, courts are forced to reschedule matters until transferred officers are available to appear virtually or in person to testify.
She adds that some families opt for out-of-court settlements at police stations, especially in cases where the victim is known to the perpetrator.
Consequently, some files are never forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for prosecution.
Kisii Central Divisional Criminal Investigations Officer (DCIO) Jacob Kola confirms that some cases are delayed because investigating officers are compromised by accused persons.
“If an officer has been compromised, they will definitely look for ways of failing to avail the file in court or interfering with court proceedings,” Kola says.
According to him, once a police officer is assigned a case, they conduct investigations and forward the file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Thereafter, the officer is expected to produce the file during mentions and hearings and coordinate witnesses whenever they are required in court.
Kola notes that defilement cases should not drag on provided investigations are thorough and all evidence, including medical reports, supports the allegations.
The Centre for Community Mobilisation and Empowerment (CECOME) Executive Director, Stella Achoki, says children are often traumatized and psychologically affected by prolonged trials because they continue seeing the alleged offenders within their communities.
“Delays also affect a child’s education because they miss school to attend court proceedings, exposing them to stigma from their peers,” Achoki says.
She notes that when cases take too long to conclude, children lose trust in the justice system because they feel abandoned and neglected.
The director points out that delays also create opportunities for perpetrators to interfere with evidence, threaten survivors, harass them or pressure them into withdrawing cases.
As a result, Achoki says, families are often left conflicted, frustrated and discouraged from pursuing justice, with some resorting to out-of-court settlements.
She adds that families also bear the financial burden of transport costs, medical expenses and legal fees associated with attending court proceedings.
Her sentiments are echoed by Nduhukire, who notes that many sexual and gender-based violence cases, including defilement, require pro bono legal representation because victims often come from vulnerable households and cannot afford legal fees.
However, she says that some advocates appointed to represent victims fail to attend court, forcing magistrates to adjourn cases.
Achoki says CECOME has paralegals who support survivors throughout the justice process and follow up on court dates to ensure families remain informed and engaged.
She adds that the organisation also covers victims’ legal costs to ensure they are able to complete the justice process.
Masaba South Sub-County Children’s Officer Joseph Maticha notes that prolonged trials contribute to children forgetting the actual sequence of events, resulting in inconsistencies in their testimony.
According to Maticha, discrepancies between a victim’s original statement and their testimony in court can jeopardise the administration of justice because defence lawyers may exploit such inconsistencies to seek dismissal of cases.
He recommends involving the Department of Children Services at the beginning of a defilement case to ensure minors testify at the earliest opportunity, thereby reducing psychological stress.
“Children are likely to experience trauma during prolonged trials and may not be able to testify effectively when eventually called upon. Therefore, the Department of Children Services advocates for witness protection facilities to ensure cross-examination takes place without the victim seeing the perpetrator,” Maticha says.
The officer adds that stakeholders responsible for children’s welfare should familiarize themselves with the Children Act, 2022, to better protect and uphold children’s rights.
“We should have more training sessions for stakeholders, including gender desk officers, advocates and child protection officers, on the Children Act, 2022, because many people have not fully engaged with it,” he says.
The Jukwaa la Usalama Report (2025) also proposes mandatory prosecution of all defilement cases, eliminating opportunities for mediation or withdrawal.
Meanwhile, Kisii Woman Representative Dorice Aburi has sponsored the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which seeks to promote public awareness of sexual crimes and safeguard the right to education for victims.
Aburi says the Bill could help curb rising cases of sexual and gender-based violence, including defilement, in Kisii and across the country.
The Bill has undergone Second Reading and seeks to amend the Sexual Offences Act (Cap. 63A) by requiring the Cabinet Secretary responsible for Legal Affairs, in consultation with the Cabinet Secretary for Education, to promote awareness of sexual offences through public education and information campaigns.
According to the legislator, many cases of defilement go unreported because families fear offenders, who are often relatives and breadwinners, will face lengthy prison sentences.
“When a child is defiled, especially by a close family member, the matter is often not reported because the offender is likely to spend many years in prison under the law,” Aburi says.
Section 8 of the Sexual Offences Act (2006) recognises defilement as a sexual offence.
Convicted offenders face a minimum sentence of 15 years if the victim is aged between 16 and 18 years, 20 years if the victim is aged between 12 and 15 years, and life imprisonment if the victim is aged 11 years or below.
Aburi urges residents to report perpetrators of sexual violence to the relevant authorities instead of concealing such offences.
She also calls on security agencies to assist victims of sexual and gender-based violence in obtaining justice rather than turning them away when they report offences, particularly where perpetrators are known to them.
Kisii County GBV Coordinator Roseline Nyakona urges the operationalisation of the GBV Recovery Centre located at the office of the Kisii Woman Representative is key to providing a safe environment for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.
She says additional rescue centres should be established at the sub-county level to provide emergency safe havens for survivors.
According to Nyakona, such facilities would help curb the practice of informal settlements in which cases are resolved outside the justice system after negotiations between perpetrators and victims’ families.
By Mercy Osongo
