Kenya teacher sentenced to 90 years in prison for sexually assaulting 10 students

Kenya: A 23 year old Kenyan primary school teacher, John Gichia Mugi has been sentenced to 90 years in prison by a Murang'a court for sexually abusing 10 students. He is to serve nine years for each assault with the sentences running consecutively.

The 10 boys between the ages of 13 and 16 were assaulted by Mugi at a school in Kiharu Constituency between January and May, 2015.

The boys testified in court that Mugi who was their boarding master, fondled their private parts and kissed them after night preps.

Curt Magistrate Jesse Masiga handed him the heavy sentence and termed it a deterrence. He said every count earned a jail term of nine years. Masiga told Mugi that he had breached the trust bestowed upon him by parents and committed a heinous crime on the boys he was supposed to look after.

"The prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that you had sexually assaulted the boys. I sentence you to serve a 9 year prison term for each of the ten counts of sexual assault you are charged with. The sentences will run consecutively," the magistrate said.

The abuse was exposed after one of the boys insisted he wanted to go home with his parents after a parents' meeting.

Asked why he was so insistent on leaving, the boy disclosed the abuse to his parents.

Ten other students also came forward to testify against Mugi but one was struck out by the court due to lack of sufficient evidence.

Medical examination at Muriranjas hospital revealed that the students were abused but were not molested.

They explained to the court how the teacher made efforts to molest them in their dormitories but they resisted.

Mugi told the court that the students colluded with some teachers to set him up claiming he is innocent.

He said that his "strong Christian faith" would not allow him to engage in such shameful acts and that students also disliked his high-handedness but failed to convinced Magistrate Masiga.