I didn’t know boy was a minor, woman in rape case tells court

A 24-year-old woman stunned a Kisumu court on Wednesday when she admitted to having defiled a minor but argued the boy looked like an adult.

Ms Judith Wandera, who was arrested on July 7, 2016, pleaded guilty to the crime before a packed courtroom.

When she appeared in  court, dressed in a white laced sleeveless blouse and a red skirt, her eyes revealed a mixture of sadness and remorse, perhaps summarising what she was about to let out.

Ms Wandera, however, defended her actions when she appeared before Principal Magistrate Joan Wambilyanga, claiming she could not establish on the first day they met that he was a minor.

“We met in April 2016 on one evening at a drinking joint in Kondele. He even offered to buy me drinks and settle the bill before we exchanged phone contacts and started dating,” she told the court, revealing another error of judgement in drinking with a minor.

Ms Wandera further revealed to the court that the boy, who was a boda boda rider, was also fond of abusing drugs.

She indicated that the he only looked young when he appeared in court to testify.

“The boy had dreadlocks when we met, but after being taken to juvenile prison, and he was shaven, I was surprised to see how young he looked when he came to testify,” she said.   

According to the testimonies of the boy’s parents, their son was a Class Seven pupil at Manyatta Arabs Primary but stopped attending school after meeting his purported lover, Ms Wandera.

She was to know her fate yesterday but the judgement was postponed to May 23.