Indian Based Kenyan Student Gets Life Sentence for Raping Fellow Kenyan

A Kenyan student was last week sentenced to life in prison by an Indian court for raping a Kenyan woman in 2016.

Eric Mulinge Nethuli, 26, was studying Masters in Business Administration at a private college and was accused of raping a 22 year-old fellow student.

The victim, according to The Hindu newspaper, was also a student in the same college and had reportedly invited Mulinge for dinner at her place when the rape happened.

The victim reported the matter to a local “All Women Police Station.”

The court sentenced him to a six and a half years of imprisonment and life imprisonment, all to be served concurrently.

The court also imposed a fine of 17,500 rupees.

In 2018, Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma said that at least 273 Kenyans are serving jail terms in other countries.

Appearing before the Defence and Foreign Relations Committee, Dr Juma said that although the list is not exhaustive, neighbouring Tanzania has the highest number of jailed Kenyans, at 79.

The high number raises fears that Kenyans are not getting the required assistance from the country’s missions abroad.

She also noted that the country cannot afford legal assistance for those incarcerated even as she urged Kenyans living abroad to register with the embassies to enable the government provide consular services.