For 17 years, Daniel Wanyeki had been languishing in Kamiti Maximum Prison, where he is a victim of a injustice. He was convicted on defilement charges which have now been confirmed as false. Wanyeki’s daughter, who was just seven years old at the time of her father’s arrest in 2007, has now come forward as a young adult of 24. In a heart-wrenching revelation, she disclosed that she was coerced into giving false testimony against her father.
The pressure to frame him came from various family members, including her father’s brother, Stephen Gachanja, and her grandmother, as well as a female police officer. They instructed her to maintain that her father had repeatedly sexually assaulted her.
The motive for this betrayal was rooted in a bitter conflict over their late father’s estate, valued at over KSh 50 million. Gachanja sought to illegally sell part of the estate, but Wanyeki opposed him. In a calculated move, Gachanja decided to use his niece to frame Wanyeki, enlisting the support of the family and local authorities to bolster the false allegations.
In November 27, 2007, Wanyeki was arrested and charged at the Thika Law Courts with two counts of incest, denied bail. The trial centered around accusations that he had defiled his two daughters, who were then aged nine and seven. While his nine-year-old daughter denied the allegations, the younger girl testified against him, claiming daily sexual assaults.
Despite the inconsistencies, Wanyeki was convicted and initially sentenced to 20 years in prison. This sentence was later escalated to life imprisonment upon appeal, further compounding the Injustice.
In 2020, Wanyeki’s daughter reached out to him in prison. She confessed that she had been coached to testify against him and admitted the truth of her father’s innocence. This confession has been pivotal in reopening the case, leading to the quashing of Wanyeki’s conviction.
The matter has now been remitted to the trial court for a new trial based on the recanted evidence. Wanyeki’s long-awaited quest for justice is finally within reach, as his family’s betrayal is laid bare and the truth begins to surface.
By Newshub