Rugby player in rape case accuses judicial officers of neglect of duty

A former international rugby player facing rape charge has accused judicial officers of neglect of duty for delaying the hearing of his appeal three years after filing a notice.

Frank Wanyama, who was found guilty of gang rape together with Alex Olaba, only for the judgement to be declared a mistrial and an order issued for the hearing to start afresh, says he is unable to lodge his appeal because of dereliction of duty by judicial officers.

Three years after lodging a notice at the Court of Appeal, Mr Wanyama says he could not get the record and at one point, the ombudsman admitted that the High Court file had been interfered with.

“Based on the foregoing, it is imperative that this matter is heard as a matter of urgency in order to remedy the past abuses of the legal process and to put a stop to further abuses related to the fundamental rights and freedoms of the petitioner,” Wanyama says in a petition.

Justice Lawrence Mugambi directed Chief Justice Martha Koome, of the Court of Appeal president Daniel Musinga and presiding judge of the criminal division of the High Court, Milimani, among others, to file their replies to the petition within 14 days.

The petition will be mentioned on March 3 for directions.

The two former Kenya Sevens rugby players were charged with gang raping a woman in February 2018.

They were been found guilty and sentenced to 15 years each on August 16, 2019.

However, the conviction and the sentence were quashed by then High Court judge Grace Ngenye Macharia who declared it a mistrial because the complainant was not sworn when she gave her evidence.

Through senior counsel Pravin Bowry, Wanyama filed a notice of appeal at the Court of Appeal on July 13, 2020.