Former Kenya 7s Stars Wanyama and Olaba Charged Afresh with Gang-Rape

Former Kenya Rugby 7s stars, Frank Wanyama and Alex Olaba have been charged afresh with the offenses of gang-rape and committing an indecent act.

Appearing before Milimani Law Court Magistrate Zainab Abdul on Tuesday, the two pleaded not guilty to the charges and were freed on a cash bail of Sh300,000 each.

Wanyama (22) and Olaba (23) were charged afresh after the High Court last week quashed their conviction and 15-year jail sentence handed to each of them.

Justice Grace Ngenye Macharia ruled that existing records do not show whether one of the prosecution witnesses was sworn in or not. Witnesses are required to take an oath before testifying before the court.

The two had been sentenced in August last year by Chief Magistrate Martha Mutuku, who ruled that the victim was traumatized by the rape incident. “The complainant was traumatized hence a deterrent sentence is necessary,” she ruled.

A charge sheet presented in court on Tuesday read that the accused committed the offenses on February 11th, 2018 at Seefa Apartment in Highrise estate in Nairobi. The matter will be mentioned on July 21st.

The victim, a musician, told police that on the fateful day, which was her birthday, she attended a party in Nairobi’s Kilimani area where Wanyama and Olaba were present.

She said one of the two players was her friend and after a night of merry-making, she went with them to their house.

She claimed the two took advantage of her intoxicated state and raped her repeatedly after refusing to take no for an answer. She got pregnant after the incident.