14-year-old girl recounts alleged defilement by Lumakanda OCS

Lumakanda OCS Wycliffe Kwendo is accused of defiling a  14-year-old girl at their home in Lugari. [Courtesy, ODPP]

A 14-year-old girl has told a court how Lumakanda Officer Commanding Station (OCS) Wycliffe Kwendo allegedly defiled her at her home on September 26 before offering her Sh20,000.

The hearing before Kakamega Senior Principal Magistrate James Ongo'ndo has become a battleground over the victim's age, a critical factor under Kenya's Sexual Offences Act that determines the applicable sentence if an accused person is convicted.

Under Section 8 of the Sexual Offences Act, 2006, defilement of a child aged 11 years or below attracts a mandatory life sentence upon conviction. For a child aged between 12 and 15 years, the law prescribes imprisonment for a term of not less than 20 years. Where the victim is aged between 16 and 18 years, the minimum sentence is 15 years.

The victim told the court that the accused found her at home with her younger sister.

She said her parents had left after the accused called and warned them of a police operation targeting chang'aa dens, advising them to find somewhere else to sleep.

"My parents were not at home when the OCS came, they had left, he asked me to sleep with him and threatened me," she testified.

She said he subsequently offered her Sh20,000, which she declined.

She further recounted an earlier incident on September 22, when she had been sent to deliver dog food to the accused's house.

"He greeted me and told me to wait, he went to a room and came out with a condom. He threatened me not to tell anyone that he has defiled me," she said.

According to her testimony, Kwendo later dropped her home and gave her Sh400 for the dog food after she declined an offer of Sh1,000. He also told her "to ask him for anything whenever I needed."

During cross-examination by the defence team, she could not recall the name of her maternal grandmother, with whom she had previously lived in Harambe, Bungoma.

When shown a school register indicating that she had been admitted to Grade Two in January 2021, under admission number 228, she was unable to explain how she was now in Grade Eight when the record suggested she should be in Grade Seven.

She also acknowledged having a boyfriend whom she met in January.

The stepmother, Linet Minayo, testified that the minor did not have a birth certificate when she came to live with her. She said she applied for one in 2023 using a church baptism card.

"I asked her grandmother her birth date and she told me it's September 9, 2012," she said, a date that would make the minor 14 at the time of the alleged offence.

Minayo recounted receiving a call from the accused between 7.30pm and 8pm on September 26, warning her of a police operation.

"He told him that we are yet to [eat supper] and he told him to make it quick and leave the house because their is an operation that is being conducted from 10.00p.m in the area," she testified.

She said Kwendo called again at about 11pm, offered to pick them up and drove them in a white vehicle to a bar called White House.

"He was holding a gun in his hand," she said.

Minayo testified that her instincts told her not to enter the premises.

"I told my children to lock the door and instructed them that if the police knock they should just open the door for them so that they donot break it. He told us not to leave the place until he calls," she added.

After about five minutes, they secured a motorcycle ride home using a different route.

She told the court that, after waiting outside for about 10 minutes, she called the minor to open the door. Later, while her husband went to sleep and she remained outside, she heard voices coming from inside the house.

"I went to check only to find the accused inside our house," she said.

She found him with his shorts unbuttoned and the zip open. She also said there were two condoms on the table, one used and the other unused.

"I took them and put them in the pocket but he threatened me with his gun and took it away. He then started asking for forgiveness asking us to settle the matter with him to avoid tarnishing his name and destroying his work. He gave us sh.20,000," she testified.

Minayo said she reported the matter at Chekalini Police Station at about 5am but was told the case fell under the jurisdiction of Lumakanda Police Station.

She also told the court that Kwendo's sweater was later recovered and handed over to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations officer in Lumakanda, alongside the money.

During cross-examination, Minayo's testimony came under scrutiny.

Asked why her name appeared on the birth certificate if she was not the child's biological mother, she said: "I did not sign for the birth certificate and the signature is not hers."

She admitted that she did not know the minor's exact date of birth and had relied on information provided by the grandmother.

When asked why she had told the media that the minor was 16 during an interview after the incident, she denied making the statement.

She also said she had never heard that the minor had a boyfriend and did not know the minor's class teacher.

The defence produced a dedication certificate allegedly issued on December 14, 2012, before Minayo married into the family in 2016. She denied being involved in processing it and described the signature as fake.

She also claimed that the phone numbers on the birth certificate application belonged to the area MCA and the MP's personal assistant.

The defence further pointed to the school register showing that the minor was admitted to Grade Two in 2021, arguing that she should be in Grade Seven in 2026, rather than Grade Eight.

However, Minayo maintained: "I am sure the minor is in Grade 8."

A police report filed at Lumakanda Police Station under OB No. 14/27/09/2026 at 12.07pm states that the OCS contacted Minayo at about 11pm and allegedly told her that a multi-agency team was planning a night raid in the area.

The hearing will resume on November 12, 2026.

The prosecution's case includes establishing the minor's age, which is central to determining the applicable sentencing provision if the accused is convicted. The court will have to consider the evidence presented, including the conflicting accounts and documents relating to her age, as the hearing continues.