A Kenyan court on Friday sentenced two rugby players to 15 years in prison for the gang rape of a female singer at a birthday party last year.
The international rugby sevens players Frank Wanyama, 24, and Alex Olaba, 23, were earlier this month found guilty of the rape in a case which highlighted what some activists refer to as a tradition of “rape culture” in rugby.
Milimani High Court Martha Mutuku handed down the sentences of 15 years imprisonment saying “a deterrent sentence is necessary.”
The trial was held in-camera, so details of the evidence provided were not made public.
Mutuku declined a request from the defence lawyers that their clients be allowed to avoid jail time due to their youth and the fact that they had shown remorse.
Wanyama and Olaba, who were both university students when the rape took place, play for the Nairobi Harlequins club and have played for the national sevens team, Shujaa, in global tournaments
