JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
[1] Kennedy Mutinda Mutua the appellant was charged before the Senior Resident Magistrate Court at Kithimani, with the offence of defilement said to be contrary to section 8(1)(2) of the Sexual Offences Act. He pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
[2] The appellant appealed to the High Court against his conviction and sentence, contending that there was a mistrial as the record does not show how the charge was read and explained to him, that is the language used or the explanation given, and that the appellant’s plea was therefore equivocal. The State opposed the appeal maintaining that the facts were clearly read to the appellant; that he admitted the facts and pleaded guilty to the charge; and that the language used was clearly recorded as Kikamba.
[3] The High Court (Mutende J), dismissed the appeal holding that the appellant appreciated the nature of the offence as the facts which he admitted clearly revealed the particulars of th…