A man who defiled a two-year-old girl at a church in Zimmerman, Nairobi, has been handed a 45-year jail term. Erastus Kariuki, 39, whom Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Wandia Nyamu described as inhuman and beastly, will taste freedom again aged 84.

Mr Kariuki had pleaded guilty to the offence, which he committed on July 3, 2022 around 3pm in Zimmerman, Kasarani sub-county, Nairobi County..

The magistrate said Kariuki should be segregated from society because he harbours evil thoughts about girls and women.

“The act of Kariuki making a contribution in a church function and defiling a toddler in the precincts of the house of God, shows that he has no respect for the rights of girls and women,” Ms Nyamu stated.

She added that the victim was traumatised, fears men and requires constant counselling.

“This court and other courts in the country will not slacken, tire or sit and watch the rights of young girls and women being violated by men who have no respect for women,” Ms Nyamu.

The magistrate said men with such barbaric behaviour should not be allowed to roam freely as “they pose a great danger to the womenfolk”.

In his mitigation, Kariuki told the court that an evil spirit had entered him through, claiming he had been bewitched. But Ms Nyamu dismissed that defence as an afterthought. Kariuki was whisked away immediately after the sentencing.

He had grabbed and defiled the toddler after contributing Sh100 at a church function. The magistrate heard that the rapist gave his contribution through a pastor and walked out of the worship hall. As he walked away he saw the girl playing with others. He called her, and in her innocence she followed him before he attacked her.

Kariuki was arrested and handed over to the police as church members bayed for his blood. The toddler’s mother heard her scream and dashed out to see what was happening. He found Kariuki holding onto her daughter.

The mother wailed and church members zeroed in on Kariuki, subdued him and beat him senseless. Before he could be lynched, some members of the church rescued him and took him to the Kasarani Police Station. The child was rushed to Komarock Modern Hospital, where she underwent corrective surgery and counselling.