Kenyan Football Coach Slapped with Life Sentence and Staggering Ksh90M Fine for Preying on Innocent Young Players
A Kenyan football coach is set to spend the rest of his life behind bars after he was found guilty of defiling young players under his care.
According to the Office of The Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), sufficient evidence was tabled at a Kilifi Court, implicating the accused.
Besides the life sentence, the accused was also fined Ksh90 million or, in default, served an extra 110 years in prison.
In her ruling, Kilifi Principal Magistrate Ivy Wasike found the accused guilty of child pornography, having videos with obscene images of a minor aged 11, and trafficking in persons to exploit them sexually.
The court was informed of how the former coach, who managed a team of under-15s, recruited minors and offered goodies to their families to silence them.
“Prosecution detailed to the court how the accused, who managed a football team consisting of players under the age of 15, would recruit the minors and offer their families financial support as a way of buying their silence for his actions,” a statement from the DPP said.
Under the Sexual Offences Act of 2016, the coach and soon-to-be convict was handed the maximum sentence for his crimes.
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As per the act, “A person who commits an offense of defilement with a child aged eleven years or less shall upon conviction be sentenced to imprisonment for life.”
Similarly, the act goes on to state, “A person who commits an offense of defilement with a child between the age of twelve and fifteen years is liable upon conviction to imprisonment for a term of not less than twenty years.”
The 29-year-old suspect committed his crimes between 2022 and 2023, around the Mwembe Tayari area in Malindi sub-county. Since his sentences will run concurrently, Muriithi will almost certainly die behind bars.
Cases of defilement have been on the rise in the country in recent months, sparking concern about how easily adults can take advantage of children at their mercy.
In October, residents of Chepilat Village in Bomet County made their feelings known by taking to the streets to protest the increased number of defilement and sodomy cases against children in the area.
Sotik residents decried the emotional scars caused by such attacks on young children which could impact their mental state noting that this would explain why the new generation was such a bitter generation.
Kenyan Football Coach Slapped with Life Sentence and Staggering Ksh90M Fine for Preying on Innocent Young Players
