Man sentenced to life imprisonment for marrying 9-year-old girl as fourth wife

A 50-year-old man who admitted to marrying a nine-year-old girl has been sentenced to life in prison because he violated the girl for three years and got her pregnant according to Nation.co.ke

The accused, Mr. Saigulu Ololosereka, was brought before Narok Court Senior Resident Magistrate Ms. Phyllis Shinyada. He was charged with two counts of defilement and was also given a three-year sentence for marrying a minor.

The suspect, who lives in Entasekera in Narok South Sub-County, was caught over the weekend at Narok County Referral Hospital, where he had taken the girl when she had problems giving birth.

After the child's stillbirth, she had to have a caesarean section.

Mr. Ololosereka shocked the court on January 9, 2023, when he said that he had married the girl in 2019 when she was only nine years old as his fourth wife, and that they had been living together since then.

The 12-year-old girl is still getting better at the center.

While giving the verdict, SRM Ms. Shinyada said that the accused didn't feel bad about what they did and that they had a right to the life of the victim, even though they had been physically and mentally torturing the child for three years.

Ms. Shinyada said, "To send a message to others who act the same way, this court has to protect the rights of the minor victim whose life will never be the same again."

She also said, "He (the accused) has been defiling the child since she was about 10 years old. Based on the evidence presented to this court, he is found guilty and will serve life in prison for defilement and three years for illegally marrying a minor."

Mr. Saigulu Ololosereka told the court that he married the minor in 2019 and that they have been living as "man and wife" since then.

Investigators found out that the girl was 12 years old after they checked her age.

Mr. Khaemba asked the court to let his office send the girl, who was still in the hospital, to the Taraja Children's Home in Machakos County. The court agreed, and the girl was sent there.

During the reading of the verdict, Ms. Shinyada had to call a clerk who spoke his native Maasai language to help him understand the verdict, which was given in English. The court did, however, let him know that he could go to high court within 14 days to try to change the decision.

The court also issued an arrest warrant for the girl's parents, who were said to have forced her to get married when she was still a child.