A City lawyer who operates in Nairobi and its environs has found himself on the wrong side of the law after he was sued for defiling a minor.
Cheryl Likuyi Onido is accused of committing the offence on January 23, 2021 at a hotel in Thika town. He was first charged at the Thika law courts on December 6, 2021 with defilement contrary to Section 8 (1) as read with 8 (4) of the Sexual Offences Act.
Onido is accused of intentionally causing his penis to penetrate the vagina of the 17 year old girl.
The lawyer, according to the minor’s relatives, is related to the victim and was aware of the same when he preyed on the innocent girl.
The girl’s brother who spoke to journalists in Thika town said that the sister had just joined a Thika-based University and had been introduced to the lawyer as her close relative by their elder sister.
“We reside in Mombasa and my younger sister had just joined University. She had been earlier introduced to Onido as our uncle by our elder sister even though we hadn’t met him before. The lawyer is my mother’s step-brother,” he said.
He disclosed that the Lawyer offered to be checking on the young girl on behalf of her family members since they reside miles away in Mombasa.
He said that on the fateful day, Onido contacted the girl and arranged to meet her in Thika town so that he can buy her some items to facilitate her stay in school.
“We are still puzzled on what transpired and how our ‘uncle’ managed to keep our sister in town until late night when he booked a room at a hotel within the town. My sister told us that the room had two beds and that it was almost midnight when he [Onido] started touching her indecently and eventually forced himself on her,” he said.
He noted that they noticed that all was not well with their sister through posts on social media that indicated that she was undergoing a stressful situation.
“A friend of hers who she had confided to her of the entire ordeal broke the news to us. It was painful,” he noted.
On Thursday, when the matter came up for hearing before Thika Senior Principal Magistrate A. Mutulah, Onido who is representing himself in the suit notified the court that he had been granted stay orders by the High Court in Kiambu to allow verification of the girl’s birth certificate and assessment of her age.
Justice Rachel Ngetich on Wednesday stayed the proceedings at the lower court to allow the defence counsel to carry on with the verification of birth certificate and have age assessed.
“The High Court has allowed me to have the girl undergo the age assessment and I am also waiting for verification of her birth certificate by the Mombasa registrar of persons office,” he said.
He also made a suggestion that the girl avail herself and that all parties agree on a date to visit Kenyatta National Hospital for the assessment.
The Magistrate however dismissed the suggestion saying it was unlikely for the parties to agree. He also directed Onido to seek clarification from the High Court on interpretation of the order
“We cannot purport to deviate on what the High Court has ordered,” the Magistrate said.
The matter will come up for hearing on June 7, 2023.