Two Kenya rugby stars charged with gang rape

NAIROBI, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Two Kenyan rugby stars, Lawrence Frank Wanyama and Alex Mahaga Olaba, face a prison sentence after being formally charged with gang rape here on Monday.

Wanyama and his friend Olaba, having been arrested and placed in custody last Friday, were charged with the grievous offense at the Milimani Law Courts.

Aspiring musician Wendy Kemunto claimed on social media that the two local rugby stars who have been suspended by their clubs (the Kenya Harlequins RFC and Strathmore Leos RFC) gang raped her in February at the former's apartment after a night out in an incident that resulted in a pregnancy.

Despite vehement denials by the players, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution called for investigations and after the parties were interviewed at the Kilimani Police Station in Nairobi, enough evidence to charge the pair was collected, leading to their arrest last Friday.

The prosecution has lined-up 15 witnesses including the accuser who will testify against the players, with six listed on the charge sheet and the rest to be named later.

Wanyama, a national team regular, last played for the side at the Victoria Falls Sevens in Zimbabwe last month but did not make the trip for Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games or the eighth round of the 2017/18 HSBC World Sevens Series in Hong Kong, China where the team made the Main Cup final.

He was in the team that won the Main Cup at the 2016 Singapore Sevens, the only time Kenya has lifted the honors at the global Sevens series.

The Kenya Rugby Union has since announced his suspension from the national team pending the outcome of the case that threatens to spell the end of his playing career.

Kemunto caused a stir when she accused Wanyama and his friend of taking turns to rape her on the fateful night and even let her rest before resuming their assault.

"I was slipping in and out of consciousness maybe due to shock but I was helpless. I couldn't fight two men who play rugby professionally, obviously they were stronger, so I let them do whatever they wanted to do the whole night."

The lady, who described herself as a singer, songwriter and performer, said she was initially afraid of reporting the ordeal to the police because she could not face what happened, revealing that her pregnancy had progressed for a month.

"I could have reported the case to police but I was in denial, shock, pain and exhausted! I didn't want to report also because of the profile of one of this rugby players," part of her post that went viral on April 1 stated.

The issue was brought to the attention of the director of public prosecution's office after it was widely shared on other social media sites, leading to investigations, subsequent arrest and charges in court.

In their defense, Wanyama and Obada claimed the sex was consensual and the budding singer was attempting to extort them before she went public with the accusations. Enditem