Two rugby players have been slapped with a 15-year imprisonment each after they were found guilty of gang rape.
The two Alex Mahaga and Frank Wanyama were found guilty of rapping a musician last year at the Highrise Estate.
This comes despite the defense praying for a noncustodial sentence.
The Court was told that the two Kenya Harlequin FC players raped the singer overnight on her birthday at Seefar Apartments in Highrise, Nairobi, on February 10 last year.
Since the judgment was read in camera, their lawyer Wafula Simiyu told the Star that chief magistrate Martha Mutuku said she went with the defendant's version of events.
“In her judgment, no one was present at the house except for the three of them. The action of the accused of deleting the sex tape they made was an expression of guilt on the part of the accused,” Simiyu said.
Simiyu said lady Justice Mutuku found the sexually assaulted musician’s testimony more believable than that of the accused.
The lawyer further revealed that the magistrate held that there was no express consent of intercourse.
Last month, the police were looking for one of the rugby players, Mahaga, after he failed to appear in court for two consecutive days for judgment.
Mutuku was ready to deliver her verdict on July 12 but the Kenya Harlequin player failed to show up.
This prompted the court to push the verdict to Friday afternoon during which the prosecution applied for a warrant of arrest after Mahaga after he absconded for the second time.
Appearing in court on July 17, Mahaga through his lawyer, appeared in court and said he was unwell.
The Kenya Sevens players will appeal.
The duo was arrested after the woman claimed they attacked her when she went to one of their houses after her birthday celebration. Telling her story via social media, she claimed that she was drugged before the ordeal and added that she was pregnant.
"I was slipping in and out of consciousness, maybe due to shock but I was helpless. I could not fight two men who play rugby professionally. Obviously, they were stronger, hence, I let them do whatever they wanted to do the whole night,” she claimed.
"I could have reported the case to the police but I was in denial, shock, pain and exhausted. I did not want to report also because of the profile of one of these rugby players."
In her police statement, the musician said she tried to confront Wanyama with the allegations but he dismissed her telling her to look for a lawyer in case she decides to go public.
Wanyama accused the musician of attempting to extort money from him.
Having denied the charges before chief magistrate Francis Andayi in April last year, Wanyama and Mahaga were freed on bond and a Sh500,000 bail each.
Their lawyers Wafula Simiyu and Ombui Ratemo had asked for lenient bond terms. They said that the two had been contracted by the national rugby team so they are not a flight risk and that they underwent DNA tests.
