KENYA : It was joy for Daniel Wanyeki, who was sentenced to life imprisonment after his two daughters framed him for defiling them, when he was finally freed after 17 years, following a successful appeal.

Wanyeki walked to freedom on Wednesday, December 4 , 2024, from Kamiti Maximum Prison after a Thika Court granted him bail pending a decision on whether he would be subjected to retrial should the Director of Public Prosecutions present new evidence in court.

His journey to freedom started in 2020 after his daughters recanted their evidence before the High Court in Kiambu, which last week ruled that he should be re-tried.

Wanyeki, through his lawyer Kiroko Ndegwa, had petitioned the High Court in Kiambu for a retrial. The daughters told the court that they were coached by their relatives to frame their father.

The court, while overturning the sentence, said there was new and compelling evidence that necessitated a retrial. It ordered the Director of Public Prosecution to gather new evidence and retry Wanyeki afresh.

When he was produced before a Thika Court Wednesday for retrial, Wanyeki, through his lawyer Kiroko Ndegwa, argued that he should be freed since there was no new evidence, arguments which the DPP didn't object to.

Thika Chief Magistrate Stella Atambo released him on Sh100,000 cash bail and ordered the DPP to present any new evidence on January 22, 2025, failing which Wanyeki will be freed unconditionally.

Wanyeki’s conviction stemmed from charges of defiling his daughters, then aged seven and nine, at the end of which he was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

He appealed the conviction at the High Court in Kiambu, and the sentence was upheld.

Unconvinced by the ruling, Wanyeki further appealed in the Court of Appeal, which set aside the sentence and instead handed him a life imprisonment.

To his relief, in 2020, his younger daughter, now aged 24, confessed in court that her testimony that was used to convict her father was pure lies.

It also emerged that the relatives wanted Wanyeki out of the way so that they could repossess their late grandfather’s Sh50 million estate in the Kamakis area in Ruiru.

After his release by the Thika court on Wednesday, family members led by Hannah Wangari, one of her daughters who had framed him, expressed their joy that they will once more have an opportunity to enjoy being close to their dad.

Wangari said the almost two decades since her dad was jailed have been traumatic, since their mother had separated from their father some years before the conviction.

“Whatever happened is regrettable. Together with my siblings, I passed through a lot, having to live like orphans, being taken to a children’s home where I schooled. It should never have happened, but we are only thankful that my dad is finally free. He is now close to 60 years old, and we will have to enjoy every moment with him. We only hope he forgives us,” Wangari said.