PATRICK KATHURIMA V. REPUBLIC

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

Patrick Kathurima (the appellant) was charged, tried and convicted by the Senior Principal Magistrate at Meru on a charge of defilement contrary to Section 8(1) of the Sexual Offences Act, No. 3 of 2006. It was alleged that on the 4^th day of April 2008, in Meru Central District of Eastern Province, he defiled DK a child aged 13 years. That conviction earned him a sentence of 20 years imprisonment. His appeal against both was on 22^nd October 2013 dismissed by the High Court sitting at Meru (Gikonyo J), hence the present appeal.

At the hearing of the appeal, the appellant’s learned counsel Miss Nelima abandoned a four-ground Memorandum of Appeal previously filed by the appellant in person and instead argued the grounds in her Supplementary Memorandum of Appeal dated 8^th June 2015 raising the following points of law;

1. The Magistrate’s failure to conduct a voir dire on the child complainant vitiated the trial.
2. The learned Judge failed to conduct a fresh and exhaustive eva…