Kisii: It is early morning and a frightened child holds a caregiver’s hand outside the Kisii Law Courts, once again waiting for a case that has already dragged on for months. For the minor, each adjournment means another missed day of school, another painful recall of traumatic events, and another encounter with a world that is inconsiderate of her innocence.
According to Kenya News Agency, in Kisii, as it happens in many parts of the country, the pursuit of justice is a long and exhausting journey marked by mounting transport costs, emotional distress, and growing uncertainty of when their cases would be concluded. Often, as sexual offence cases drag on in the courts, survivors and their families are left wondering whether justice delayed is slowly becoming justice denied.
An instance is Sexual offence case No. E128 of 2025, Republic v Solomon Otieno, which is still pending before a Kisii court, as justice appears elusive even as the pursuit goes on. A spot check at the Judiciary’s Public Information desk reveals that the accused took a plea in December 2025. Since then, the case has been mentioned five times, with a second hearing scheduled for 27 July 2026.
Delays in the hearing of sexual offence cases deny victims timely justice and expose gaps in the justice system, including claims of missing police files, absent witnesses, and a lack of legal representation for minors. This is despite Article 159 of the Constitution of Kenya mandating that justice shall be administered without delay or undue regard to procedural technicalities. Judicial guidelines also indicate that matters involving children should be concluded within six months.
A 2026 report by Midrift Hurinet, in collaboration with Childright, highlights a continued rise in cases of defilement and sodomy in the country. The report reveals that the majority of survivors are aged between six and 11 years, accounting for 39 per cent of cases. It further notes that the most common age group of survivors in Kisii and Busia is 16-17 years, accounting for 50 percent and 62 percent respectively.
According to the report, courts in some counties expedited cases involving child sexual exploitation within six months. Among cases reviewed in Kisumu, Nairobi, and Mombasa, 50 per cent, 66.7 per cent, and 71.4 per cent respectively were concluded within six months of being reported. ‘While the average duration for concluding child sexual exploitation and abuse cases in the three counties was within six months, other counties, including Garissa, Busia, and Kisii, recorded durations ranging between two and three years,’ the report states.
The Jukwaa la Usalama Report (2025) by the Ministry of Interior and National Administration also highlights an increase in cases of child sexual abuse, including defilement, as reported by local administrators and women leaders during a forum held in Kisii. Anita Nduhukire, an advocate who coordinates pro bono lawyers in Kisii County, says claims of missing files are a common reason cited by prosecutors when seeking adjournments in defilement cases.
Nduhukire adds that police transfers have also contributed to prolonged trials because investigating officers are often reluctant to take up defilement cases. As a result, courts are forced to reschedule matters until transferred officers are available to appear virtually or in person to testify. She adds that some families opt for out-of-court settlements at police stations, especially in cases where the victim is known to the perpetrator.
Kisii Central Divisional Criminal Investigations Officer (DCIO) Jacob Kola confirms that some cases are delayed because investigating officers are compromised by accused persons. He notes that defilement cases should not drag on provided investigations are thorough and all evidence, including medical reports, supports the allegations.
The Centre for Community Mobilisation and Empowerment (CECOME) Executive Director, Stella Achoki, says children are often traumatized and psychologically affected by prolonged trials because they continue seeing the alleged offenders within their communities. Achoki notes that delays also affect a child’s education because they miss school to attend court proceedings, exposing them to stigma from their peers.
Masaba South Sub-County Children’s Officer Joseph Maticha notes that prolonged trials contribute to children forgetting the actual sequence of events, resulting in inconsistencies in their testimony. He recommends involving the Department of Children Services at the beginning of a defilement case to ensure minors testify at the earliest opportunity.
The Jukwaa la Usalama Report (2025) also proposes mandatory prosecution of all defilement cases, eliminating opportunities for mediation or withdrawal. Meanwhile, Kisii Woman Representative Dorice Aburi has sponsored the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which seeks to promote public awareness of sexual crimes and safeguard the right to education for victims.
Aburi says the Bill could help curb rising cases of sexual and gender-based violence, including defilement, in Kisii and across the country. She urges residents to report perpetrators of sexual violence to the relevant authorities instead of concealing such offences.
Kisii County GBV Coordinator Roseline Nyakona urges the operationalisation of the GBV Recovery Centre located at the office of the Kisii Woman Representative to provide a safe environment for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. She says additional rescue centres should be established at the sub-county level to provide emergency safe havens for survivors.
According to Nyakona, such facilities would help curb the practice of informal settlements in which cases are resolved outside the justice system after negotiations between perpetrators and victims’ families.
