A court in Lamu is today, July 3, set to sentence a police officer found guilty of raping a pregnant woman who had gone to report a case at Lamu police station.
Lamu Principal Magistrate Allan Temba found Police Constable Rodgers Ouma, 28, guilty of rape and abuse of his position of authority as a police officer.
Led by Eddie Kaddebe, the prosecution told the court how the accused, on December 8, 2019, lured the woman to his house at Langoni Police Lines, where he sexually abused the complainant.
The 26-year-old woman had gone to the station at around 8 pm to report that her husband was forcing her to take abortion pills to terminate a pregnancy.
The court heard that the victim was on her way home in the rain when somebody stopped her. The man identified himself as a police officer from the station; he told the woman that he had reviewed her complaint and was willing to help her.
“…the woman trusted the officer as a person in authority, genuinely willing to follow the case. The officer asked that they walk together as they were going in the same direction. He offered her shelter for rains to subside,” said the prosecution.
When they got to his house, Ouma locked the door, grabbed her phone and turned it off. He then forced himself on her and threatened to kill her using a knife.
The woman managed to escape and spent the night in a neighbour’s house as she could not go back to her house because she had left her keys and mobile phone in Ouma’s house.
The next morning, she reported the assault to Lamu OCS. Detectives recovered the victim’s belongings from Ouma’s house and arrested him.
A medical examination conducted on the woman showed that had indeed been raped.
Magistrate Allan Temba on Wednesday ruled that the prosecution had proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.
The court also rejected the policeman’s defense that he was set up, stating that he was the one who trailed and lured her to his quarters with a promise to intervene against her husband.
“The DPP has established beyond any reasonable doubt that the accused person committed the offense of rape after obtaining the consent of the complainant by means of threats and intimidation.
“PC Rodgers Ouma also abused his position as a police officer to commit the sexual offense against the complainant,” said Magistrate Temba.
