Corpun file 8201

Daily Nation, Nairobi, 10 April 2001

Lawyer Jailed for Sex Offence

A state counsel was yesterday jailed for four-and-a-half years for indecent assault.

Mr Nathans Birundu, also a one-time KTN newscaster, will also receive three strokes of the cane.

Senior Principal Magistrate Rosemelle Mutoka said it was clear that Birundu had a deep pathological problem and his freedom would not be in the best interests of society.

The magistrate said the complainant took time to report the matter because she had succumbed to Birundu's threats that he would have her gang-raped and instigate her mother's sacking from the AG's chambers, where she works as a secretary.

Birundu indecently assaulted a 15-year-old KBC children's programme presenter at Forest Lodge, Nairobi, on January 10, 1998. She was in Form Two at the time.

He was cleared of a rape charge as the prosecution failed to prove its case.

The girl told the court that she was introduced to Birundu by her mother so that he could help her to move from KBC to KTN. Birundu promised to introduce her to KTN's Jimmy Gathu, and made an appointment with him.

But the girl turned up late for the appointment because she was apprehensive about Birundu's attitude towards her. He had told her that she was attractive, making her uneasy with him.

The magistrate said the prosecution's case was weakened by lack of corroborative evidence because the complainant did not seek medical attention after the incident.

She had refused to report the matter until she was pressured by Mr David John Price, a family friend, to tell her mother and subsequently report the matter to the police.

She also dismissed his bail application, saying the lawyer had failed to give adequate reasons. She refused to accept a medical report which said Mr Birundu was suffering from six ailments including typhoid, peptic ulcers and hypertension.

Update: This conviction and sentence were overturned on appeal (Saturday Nation, 24 February 2007, not on line).