The Court of Appeal has acquitted Rael Nyakarario, an elderly woman previously implicated alongside two others in the case involving the gouging out of her grandson Baby Sagini’s eyes in Kisii in 2022.
Justice Waweru Kiarie, in the ruling, emphasized the weakness of the case, pointing to the mental challenges of the witness and their lack of intelligence to provide credible evidence.
Furthermore, the judge noted the prosecution’s failure to present an expert witness, particularly a sign language interpreter, which further undermined the case. Nyakarario, along with her alleged accomplices, Pacifah Nyakerario (baby Sagini’s aunt), and Alex Ochogo (baby Sagini’s cousin), had initially been sentenced to five, ten, and 40 years behind bars, respectively, after being found guilty of causing grievous harm to the minor in July 2023.
Kisii Law Courts Senior Resident Magistrate Christine Ogweno, who delivered the initial judgment, ruled that the three were found culpable of the gruesome offense.
Among the three, only Nyakarario chose to file an appeal within the given 14-day period.
The three suspects had initially been charged with attempted murder on January 18, 2023, which later changed to causing grievous bodily harm under Section 4 of the Penal Code after Prosecutor Hillary Kaino applied to the court to amend the charges.
During a virtual cross-examination in March 2023, Sagini recounted that his grandmother gouged out his eyes using her hands and abandoned him in a maize plantation.
Sagini’s sister informed the court that on December 13, 2022, they went to the river to fetch water as usual, but Sagini did not join them as he had lost his water jerrican.
She detailed how they proceeded with their daily chores, and the next day, someone informed their grandmother that Baby Sagini was found abandoned in a maize plantation. They searched for him, and subsequently, police officers arrived, taking the baby to the hospital for medical attention.
