Former Laikipia Member of Parliament (MP) Mathew Lempukurlel has been sentenced to one year in jail for assaulting a woman.
Lempukurlel was not given an alternative of a fine in the ruling by the Milimani Law Courts.
He was accused of slapping the current Laikipia North MP Sarah Korere in 2016.
It is alleged that the incident occurred on November 21 at Harambee House in Nairobi. The former MP is said to have slapped Okerere on her left cheek and kicked her on her lower abdomen thereby causing her actual bodily harm.
According to Senior Principal magistrate Hellen Onkwani, the jail term will serve as an example to others who have a similar behaviour.
“I have also considered the fact that the accused person is a first offender but I note that the accused is a leader who should be a good example to others. I hereby proceed to sentence the accused person to serve 1-year imprisonment,” the magistrate ruled.
She said that she had found Lempurkulel guilty since the prosecution had proved beyond any reasonable doubt that the former MP was guilty as charged for the offence of assault and causing actual bodily harm contrary to section 251 of the penal code.
The magistrate dismissed the defense’s submissions by saying that the issues he raised in the submission of political rivalry were not raised in his pleadings.
Lempurkulel’s argument that the CCTV footage did not capture all the events of the said day was neither considered since the boardroom where the assault occurred had no CCTV cameras.
“The CCTV was at the corridor but the offence was committed in the boardroom and not in the corridor and such the said CCTV would have been immaterial consideration of this case,” Onkwani said.
Both the parties in the case were issued with a P3 after filing reports with the investigations officer.
Lempurkulel however did not return the P3 form and the medical documents claiming that he was the victim of the assault.
The court came to a conclusion that proper investigations were conducted and each party was accorded equal opportunity to present their case.
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