Court acquits clinical officer accused of raping dialysis patient in Mombasa

A Mombasa court has acquitted a clinical officer, Dias Juma Wabwile, accused of raping a female dialysis patient. The prosecution was unable to establish the alleged lack of consent because the complainant died before the trial began, leaving the key witness unavailable. Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina ruled that while the evidence raised strong suspicion, it could not be a basis for conviction.

Wabwile, a former employee of Pandya Memorial Hospital, was charged with raping the patient on January 31, 2025, at the hospital’s dialysis unit. The prosecution called eight witnesses, including nurses and doctors, but none testified to having seen the alleged incident. DNA analysis showed that semen found on a condom matched Wabwile’s DNA profile, but the condom was claimed by the accused to have been used during intercourse with his wife earlier that morning.

The court found that the nurses’ testimony was hearsay on the question of whether the alleged rape actually occurred, as the complainant could not be cross-examined. Wabwile was acquitted under Section 215 of the Criminal Procedure Code.