BY IRENE ONYANGO.
A father has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for having sex with his daughter, who is a minor.
He will serve the sentence without being granted the provision of a fine that he prayed to court to be awarded.
The father, Ali Hassan Sheikh, a retired soldier with the Kenya Defence Forces, was convicted by a Milimani court with the offence of committing incest with his 14 year old daughter.
The father, a 54 yr old, was found guilty of incest and assault causing bodily harm to his daughter between May 2016 and May 2017 at Biafra estate in Shauri Moyo, Nairobi county.
His plea for a linient sentence because of health complications and being the sole breadwinner in his nuclear family with 10 children was disallowed.
He also urged the court to consider that he served as a soldier, trained other soldiers to counter Alshabaab offensives in the country, and had never received any disciplinary action.
Sheikh also urged the court to consider a pre-bail report, which indicated that the accused had a blood relationship with the complainant, and he had prayed forgiveness before court.
He also insinuated that he had educated and taken care of the complainant with her other siblings, requesting the court to give a non-custodial sentence.
“The accused was trusted by the minor for being her father; rather than taking care of her, he conducted the heinous act, in regards to that I urge this court to consider giving maximum sentence,” the prosecutor bellowed.
The prosecutor further told the court to consider the painful demeanour expressed by the complainant regarding the act and give a sentence that will pass an important message to society as well as bring justice to her.
While giving the sentence the Principal Magistrate Zainab Abdul said after careful consideration, she found the matter very serious and attrocious.
She said Sheikh failed to protect his daughter, and as a lesson to him and the society, he sentenced him to serve 10 years in jail.
