A child shocked a court in Kisii when he said his grandmother violently gouged out his eyes using her hands.
The child, baby Junior Sagini was in court virtually in a case where his relatives have been charged with causing bodily harm to him.
He is now blind out of the action.
Alex Ochogo, Rael Nyakerario (grandmother), and Pacificah Nyakerario, who is accused of gouging out Baby Sagini’s eyes on December 13, 2022, were charged with causing grievous bodily harm according to Section 4 of the Penal Code after Prosecutor Hillary Kaino made an application to the court to amend the charges.
Three-year-old Sagini, who is currently under state protection, was giving his testimony Friday before Senior Resident Magistrate Christine Ogweno of the Kisii Law Courts.
He and his sister Shantel Kemunto were testifying virtually.
They were with their caregiver Josephine Karimi, who is looking after the two from an undisclosed location.
The three accused persons had on January 18 been charged with attempted murder after they appeared before Senior Resident Magistrate Christine Ogweno at the Kisii Law Courts.
They were changed to cause bodily harm.
During the cross-examination on Friday, March 10 Sagini said that the grandmother gouged out his eyes using her hands and dumped him at a maize plantation.
When his lawyer Anita Nduhukire, asked Sagini to tell her who Nyakerario was, the minor said he does not want to hear about her.
She’s the one who removed my eyes, I don’t want to talk about her, Sagini said before he refused to take any more questions from the lawyer.
His sister Shantel Kemunto told the Court that on December 13, 2022, they went to the river to fetch water as usual whereby Sagini did not turn up since he had lost his water jerrican.
She said they went on with their daily chores and the following day someone told their grandmother that baby Sagini has been dumped in a maize plantation.
The minor said that her grandmother chased her away, luckily she was unable to get hold of her.
They went to search for him and later police officers came and took the baby to the hospital to seek medication.
A clinician at Kisii Teaching said that he received a medical report on December 29, 2022, from Rioma Station of baby sagini 3 years.
He said baby Sagini was assaulted by unknown people on 13, and 14 December 2022.
He said that baby Sagini had scratch marks which might have been caused by more than one person and sustains severe injuries.
According to him, the eyes were gouged out, the eyelids were dark and there was leakage like an ointment from the eyes.
He separated the eyelids and mounted a bandage on the eyes.
He further said that baby Sagini had bruises below the right eye 1cm long and scratch marks on the kneck.
Nyameino further told the court the injuries were a result of a sharp object.
The baby was later transferred to Kisii Eye Hospital to seek medical attention and his eyelids were prepared and recommended to be taken to blind school since his eyes were permanently damaged.
Karimi a caregiver told the court the minors have improved from the status they were at first.
Karimi said that the minors have undergone psychosocial support and have improved from the torture they were subjected to.
“When I received them, they were speaking Ekegusii, but right now they are speaking Kiswahili,” she said.
She also told the court that the children were also violent, using abusive language that showed that they were in a violent family.
The prosecution has three more witnesses that it will line up before the court. One is under state protection and will testify on March 24, 2023.
George Morara appeared as an interested party representing the Kisii County government and Anita Nduhukire represented Baby Sagini.
Violet Moguche and Kerosi Ondieki are representing the victims.
The case will proceed on March 17 and the final hearing on March 24.
