The Supreme Court of Kenya has definitively acquitted Paolo Camellini, 53, originally from the province of Mantua, bringing to an end one of the legal cases that has most affected the Italian community in the country.
From the maximum-security prison in Kodiaga, Kisumu, where the craftsman had been detained since February 2022, to freedom. Paolo Camellini’s long legal ordeal, which began after he was accused by his former Kenyan partner of abusing her three-year-old son, has ended with a ruling that completely overturns the previous ones: first a life sentence, then a reduction of the sentence to thirty years, and finally a definitive acquittal. This case tells a story that goes far beyond that of a single Italian man.

For over four years, the family continued to insist that Paolo Camellini was innocent. He himself never wavered in his account, and the theory that his former partner – with whom he was no longer in a relationship – was seeking revenge seemed the most likely explanation, especially to those who knew him well. Now the Kenyan court has ruled in his favour, ordering his immediate release, as confirmed by his lawyer, Alex Rienye.
But the path leading to this decision raises questions that go far beyond the fate of the 53-year-old man from Mantua.
Within the space of a few months, he had received a very harsh life sentence, later reduced to thirty years by the Kisumu Court of Appeal. Now the final verdict has completely overturned that sentence, ordering his immediate release.

His family, from Italy, never stopped supporting him, undertaking long journeys to Kenya to visit him and follow the proceedings closely. The Italian Embassy in Nairobi also maintained constant contact with the family and the defence team throughout the trial.
Even in the initial appeals, the lawyers had highlighted numerous flaws in the investigation and the trial proceedings. Among the main grounds for appeal were the use of an intermediary to take the testimony of the child, who was just three years old at the time; the identification of the defendant based on evidence deemed insufficient by the defence; and various inconsistencies that emerged during the trial.
The High Court in Kisumu had, however, rejected these objections, upholding the defendant’s guilt whilst acknowledging the excessive severity of the sentence imposed at first instance – which had been reduced from life imprisonment to thirty years in view of his lack of a criminal record.

The Supreme Court’s final decision completely changes the picture, ruling that the conviction could not be upheld.
The acquittal certainly does not erase the four years spent behind bars, nor the personal and family consequences of an ordeal that has deeply affected the Italian citizen, even though Camellini himself has always stated that he was treated with respect, despite the fact that his detention took a heavy toll on him.
Above all, however, it draws attention back to certain aspects of the Kenyan justice system that continue to raise concerns. It is not uncommon for criminal proceedings to yield vastly different outcomes at various levels of the judicial system, sometimes leading to complete reversals of verdicts. This phenomenon may be interpreted as the normal functioning of the appeals system, but in Kenya it is often accompanied by criticism regarding the quality of investigations, the inconsistent competence of investigative bodies, and differing interpretations of the evidence.
Added to this is a structural problem that the Kenyan judicial system itself has recognised for years: corruption. Various reports by the judiciary and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission have highlighted how bribes, interference and undue pressure continue to represent one of the main challenges to ensuring fully fair trials, although this does not mean that every single verdict should automatically be called into question.
In the Camellini case, there is no publicly available evidence to suggest any instances of corruption linked to the proceedings. However, the shift from a life sentence to a thirty-year sentence and finally to a definitive acquittal makes it clear that the body of evidence was far from watertight.
For the Italian man’s family, who have never stopped believing in his innocence, the Supreme Court’s decision finally marks the end of a nightmare.