A High Court in Embu has sentenced a former Embu North Sub County Directorate of Criminal Investigations Officer(DCIO) Jervasio Mwaniki Nyaga to 30 years in jail on two counts of rape one count of abuse of position of authority.
Nyaga was committed to the three-decade long jail term after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) successfully appealed his acquittal by a magistrate court.
Nyaga was handed 20 years in jail for two offences of rape and a further 10 years’ imprisonment on a charge of abuse of position of authority as an enforcement officer.
The verdict issued by a judge sitting in Embu High Court slapped Nyaga with the harsh sentence after overturning a trial court decision that had acquitted him of the charges for lack of evidence.
In convicting and sentencing the former detective, the court found that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) had proved beyond reasonable doubt that he committed the three offences levelled against him.
“I agreed that the prosecution had proven all counts overwhelmingly and that the trial court had erred in descending into the arena of litigation and in considering extraneous factors while acquitting the respondent.” The judge ruled while setting aside the judgment of the trial magistrate.
The court set aside the magistrate decision that had set him free for lack of sufficient evidence. Nyaga had been charged that on May 31, 2020 at around 5pm, he raped a 42 years old woman at Manyatta Police Station.
Prosecutors Daniel Karuri and Scolastica Nyika contested Nyaga’s acquittal terming it as a miscarriage of justice.
The former detective had been charged with sexually assaulting the then 42 years old suspect-cum-victim, who was under his custody at the police station, as well as abusing his position of authority as a law enforcement officer.
“The High Court, in setting aside the judgment of the Trial Court, agreed that the prosecution had proven all counts overwhelmingly.” ODPP said yesterday.
The court further ruled that the trial court had erred in descending into the arena of litigation and in considering extraneous factors while acquitting the former security agent.
