A man who was arrested in Likoni Mombasa for allegedly defiling a 4-year-old minor has confessed his HIV status to police
The 43-year-old confirmed that he has been on HIV medication for more than 10 years and pleaded with the officers to allow him continue receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) while in cell.
The suspect had, on Friday 3 been arrested by police officers from Shelly Beach police at Gambani area while fleing away from his home in senti kumi.
X, however, refuted the accusations levelled against him, claiming he was being framed by a neighbour (father to the minor) with whom he had accused of stealing his gas cylinder a few months ago.
Likoni sub-county police commander Joseph Mutungi confirmed the arrest through a phone call stating that x will be arraigned on Monday to face charges of defilement and for deliberately having sexual intercourse with a minor with full knowledge that he was sick
Cases of defilement and teenage pregnancy have been rampant not only in Likoni constituency but across the coastal region with some citing parental laxity as the major reason.
Some communities in Kenya hold beliefs that HIV can be cured through ancestral sacrifices, eating specific vegetables, or even sleeping with a virgin, which is a dangerous myth that perpetuates misinformation preventing proper treatment hence reinforcing cases of defilement and Gender based violence risking high transmission
The question of sexual offences has always been a heated topic, particularly in Parliament, with leaders divided on what should be the most effective form of punishment for such offenders.
At one point, when Hon. Aden Duale was the majority leader called for the castration of men found to have committed sexual acts such as defilement and deliberately spreading Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs
According to a report by the National Crime Research Centre, Mombasa has reported the highest number of defilement cases out of 13 counties sampled.
The report released in 2014 showed defilement was high in Mombasa at 60.0 per cent, followed by Machakos at 58.3 per cent, Kisii (57.1 per cent), and Nairobi (24.5 per cent). Nyeri recorded the lowest defilement cases at 17.5 per cent.
The report entitled "Gender Based Violence in Kenya" also revealed that Mombasa had recorded the highest rates of wife/husband battery with a prevalence rate of 97.7 per cent followed by Machakos at 95.2per cent.
Kilifi ranked highest for rape cases at 97.9 per cent followed by Kisii 85.7 per cent, Machakos 71.4 per cent, Mombasa 66.7 per cent, Nairobi at 64.9 per cent and Samburu at 7.9 per cent.
"The leading counties in marital rape were Kisii at 42.9 per cent and Mombasa at 22.2 per cent," read the report.
Gender based violence in the form of sexual deprivation was highest in Machakos at 13.1 per cent, 12.3 per cent in Nakuru and 11.7 per cent in Nairobi.
