Sex with stepdaughter still incest, High Court rules

'It is logical that the appellant could not have had sex with the mother and also have sex with her'

The judge ruled a stepdaughter 'comes within the definition of a daughter' for the purposes of the law on sexual offences (iStock)

A Kenyan man has been sentenced to life in prison for having sex with his stepdaughter, after a High Court judge ruled that it was still classed as incest in the eyes of the law.

The Nairobi High Court heard that the man started a sexual relationship with his wife's teenage daughter, while also maintaining a relationship with his wife.

According to Kenya's The Standard newspaper, the girl told the court she first saw the man as a father figure, but that he provided for her in the same way as he did for his wife.

She said the relationship was kept a secret from her mother, and claimed the man threatened to kill her if she broke her silence.

Justice Said Chitembwe said the Sexual Offences Act did not specify whether stepdaughters were included in the definition of incest.

But he ruled that the man was wrong to enter a sexual relationship with the younger girl while also being married to her mother, and that the fact they were not genetically related did not excuse this.

He upheld the man's life sentence, telling the court: "Although section 20 of the Sexual Offences Act does not include the term step-daughter in relation to the offence of incest, it is logical that the appellant could not have had sex with the mother and also have sex with her.

"A step-daughter comes within the definition of a daughter under section 20 (i) of the Sexual Offences Act. Any sexual relationship between the appellant and prosecution witness would fall within the ambit of incest."