NAIROBI, Kenya — A Kenyan court has sentenced a Chinese national to 10 years in prison after finding him guilty of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl aboard a flight to Nairobi.
Li Jianjun was convicted of committing an indecent act against the minor on December 7, 2025, while travelling on a China Southern Airlines flight from China to Kenya.
Delivering the ruling at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Court, Senior Principal Magistrate Njeri Thuku said the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
“Li is sentenced to 10 years in prison. The time starts to run from the date of his arrest, and upon completion of his prison term, Li is to be repatriated back to his country by the Immigration Department,” she ruled.
According to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Jianjun intentionally touched the minor’s private parts without her consent during the flight.
In her testimony, the teenager said she was asleep when she felt someone touching her leg over her clothes at around 4am.
The court heard that the accused later touched her private parts, unzipped her trousers and inserted his hand inside.
The minor had travelled from Changsha, China, to Kenya to attend a United Nations conference.
The court was told that Jianjun had travelled to Kenya to repair machinery in a shoe factory and had boarded the flight from China on the evening of December 7.
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In his defence, the accused denied the allegations, citing the cramped seating conditions on the aircraft.
“It was also in his defence that he slept during the flight and denied touching anyone inappropriately,” Thuku noted.
The magistrate said the court found the victim’s testimony credible and consistent, adding that she remained traumatised by the incident.
The court ordered that Jianjun will be repatriated to China after serving his sentence.
