Man arrested for sexually assaulting daughters

A 34-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly assaulting his daughters sexually in a village in Mwatate Sub-county, Taita Taveta County.

The father of two, who is currently in police custody, is alleged to have assaulted the girls aged four years and one and a half years by inserting his fingers in their private parts.

Speaking to Nation.Africa at the Mwatate Sub-county Hospital, the mother said the man committed the heinous act at their home when she had gone to fetch water.

She explained that she had left the girls under their father’s care but on returning after about two hours, the younger child was crying.

"I found the younger one wailing and I thought she was hungry. I decided to bath her before preparing breakfast for them. I noticed that my baby was in pain and became uncomfortable while I washed her," she narrated.

When she checked her, she noticed she had bruises on her private parts.

She summoned her four-year-old daughter, whom she also noticed had difficulty walking. 

Beat her

On probing her, the minor allegedly told her mother how the suspect had sexually assaulted them.

"When I interrogated her, she seemed scared to tell me what had happened. I threatened to beat her and that's when she opened up," she said.

Her husband, she said, denied committing the heinous act.

"He was very angry, claiming he was innocent. He even threatened to beat me up for accusing him of harming our children," she said.

The woman shared the ordeal with two neighbours the following morning who then escorted her to the Mwatate Police Station to report the matter.

Later, they took the children to hospital for post-rape care where they also filled a P3 form.

The medics confirmed that someone had inserted something into the minors' private parts. The children are currently undergoing counselling at the hospital.

According to the woman, her husband was notorious of abusing his daughters. She said he had previously attempted to molest them in Voi, when they lived there, but the matter was allegedly swept under the rug.

"This is the third time. The first and second times he tried to do it but I confronted him and we settled the matter at home with the help of our neighbours," she said.

The mother is crying for justice saying her children are psychologically traumatised.

"I never thought my husband would hurt our children that is why I left him to watch over them. This incident has affected the children mentally and the small one cannot stop crying," she said.

Multiple times

The man is currently being held at the Mwatate police station.

The neighbours too, confirmed the suspect had tried to assault his daughters multiple times in the past.

Damaris Mlale, a neighbour, said the man who had only lived in this village for six months, committed the previous crimes while living in Voi.

"This time we will not keep quiet. We will ensure the children get justice," she said.

Mwatate Sub-county Police Commander Morris Okul, confirmed that the suspect was being detained at the police station for questioning and would be presented at the Wundanyi Law Courts today.

"We have the suspect in our cells, but he will be arraigned on Monday to face sexual assault charges," he said.

This comes after a Voi Court sentenced a father to 60 years in prison after he was found guilty of defiling his seven-year-old daughter.

Principal Magistrate Cecilia Kithinji said evidence tabled before the court indicate that the accused was the perpetrator of the crime.

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