High Court Overturns 100-Year Sentence For Former Children’s Home Director Convicted Of Molesting Young Boys

The High Court in Nairobi has overturned the conviction and 100-year prison sentence imposed on Stephen Nzuki Mutisya, the former director of Scream Africa Children’s Home, after finding that his trial was marred by inconsistencies, weak evidence, and procedural irregularities.

Delivering judgment at the Milimani Law Courts, Justice Alexander Muteti ruled that the conviction entered by Principal Magistrate Zainab Abdul was unsafe and could not stand, noting that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

The judge faulted the trial court for relying on uncorroborated witness statements and contradictory evidence, saying the testimonies presented by the complainants and witnesses were unreliable and appeared to have been influenced by external parties.

“The trial court failed to properly evaluate the evidence before it and instead relied on inconsistent and unverified testimonies. The conviction was therefore unsafe,” Justice Muteti said.

Justice Muteti observed that medical reports from Kenyatta National Hospital and Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital contradicted the prosecution’s case.

The reports showed that all four minors who were said to have been defiled had normal genital and anal examinations, with no medical indication of penetration, trauma, or injury.

He added that the absence of medical proof, combined with a significant delay in reporting the alleged offences, weakened the credibility of the allegations.

The court also criticized the prosecution’s decision to order second age assessments for some of the minors, describing the move as improper and prejudicial.

According to the judge, the re-assessments appeared to have been intended to patch up gaps in the prosecution’s evidence.

Justice Muteti further questioned the credibility of the witnesses, noting that some appeared to have been coached or influenced by third parties among them a teacher and a children’s officer who may have had personal motives in the case.

Evidence presented during the appeal suggested that some of the minors had previously been expelled from the children’s home and later came under the influence of individuals with personal or financial disputes with Nzuki. Among them was reportedly a foreign volunteer alleged to have sought control of the home and access to donor funds.

“The circumstances surrounding these allegations suggest an orchestrated plan to discredit and remove the appellant from the management of the institution,” the judge remarked.

The High Court held that the lower court failed in its duty to weigh the evidence impartially, adding that the trial was conducted in a manner that prejudiced the accused.

Justice Muteti noted that the prosecution had not established any direct or circumstantial evidence linking Nzuki to the alleged offences.

“In criminal proceedings, the burden of proof lies entirely with the prosecution. Suspicion, no matter how strong, cannot form the basis of a conviction,” he stated.

Having found that the conviction was based on unreliable testimony and a misapprehension of evidence, the court quashed both the conviction and the 100-year jail term, ordering Nzuki’s immediate release, unless held for other lawful reasons.

Nzuki, who had been convicted by a lower court in 2023, filed an appeal through his lawyer, John Swaka, arguing that the magistrate erred in both law and fact by failing to evaluate the evidence impartially and by disregarding material contradictions.

In his submissions, Swaka maintained that the case had been politically and personally motivated, pointing out that no physical, medical, or forensic evidence had ever linked his client to the alleged crimes.