JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
Christopher Tsavula Lianga (the appellant) is an old man in his late 70s. He was arrested and charged before the Senior Resident Magistrate Court Vihiga with the offence of defilement of a girl child contrary to Section 8(1)(2) of the Sexual Offences Act No. 3 of 2006. After the charge and all particulars were read over to him in Kiswahili language which he clearly understood, he admitted having defiled the girl. The detailed facts were read over to him and he admitted them saying that he committed the offence as a result of “emotional confusion”.
The learned trial Magistrate convicted him and sentenced him to life imprisonment which she said was the minimum mandatory sentence prescribed in law.
Aggrieved, the appellant moved to the High Court challenging both conviction and sentence. The learned Judge (G.B.M. Kariuki (as he then was) held, and rightly so, that the appellant could not challenge the conviction by dint of section 348 Criminal Procedure Code, having pl…