A 24 year old man has confessed before a Loitoktok law court that he was not aware it was against the law to marry an underage girl under Maasai cultural marriage.
Justine Marau in his defense had told Principal Magistrate Judicaster Nthuku that he eloped with a girl, 13, and married her according to Maasai traditions.
However, the Magistrate said the Constitution is supreme and any other law whether cultural contravening it is null and void.
Marau committed the offense on diverse dates between 2020 and May 1, 2022 at Kuku Ward in Loitoktok Sub County.
The girl who is a school dropout had told the court how she started sexual intimacy with the accused while working at his shop in 2020.
On December 2021 she realized she was pregnant and when she informed the accused, he eloped with her to Mashuuru Sub County where they lived as a couple.
Nantoye ole Kiruti, mother of the girl had told the court how on March 24 she came home and found her daughter missing.
She learned later that the accused who had employed the minor in his shop had eloped with her for marriage and reported the matter at Ilasit police station before contacting the accused who confirmed he was with the girl.
Chief Nkama Sub location in Kuku Ward Robert Mintei told the court how on May 2, 2022 he met the accused who introduced the girl as his wife before he informed the girl’s mother who confirmed she had received the report from the accused.
The following day, the accused was arrested and charged with the offense before being arraigned in court where he denied the allegations. The court set July 21 for sentencing.
