Today, police in Isinya, Kajiado County are expected to charge a church elder accused of defiling a minor and attempting to offer the victim’s family Kes.100,000 to drop the case.
According to a police report, officers picked up the 39-year-old suspect and booked him at Kitengela Police Station on April 12, 2024.
The victim’s family spokesperson said the church elder allegedly abused the victim on April 8, 2024. He said the 14-year-old Grade 8 pupil from Busia County had gone to Kitengela to visit her sister during the April school holidays.
The spokesperson reportedly told NTV that the sister sent the girl to the church elder’s house to help with household chores.
“The victim is my cousin. I became curious when she did not return home on April 8, 2023, only to be found at the suspect’s house around 8 pm. We took her to the police station, she opened up about what happened before we took her to Nairobi Women’s Hospital where the tests turned positive,” he said as quoted.
Negotiations
NTV reports that the spokesman informed them that he was negotiating with the church elder on behalf of the victim, her sister, and their mother, who resides in Busia.
The family spokesman accused some police officers of orchestrating the negotiations. He claimed that in a well-coordinated plan to sabotage the case, the officers asked him to surrender the medical report from the hospital and the Occurrence Book (OB) number receipt he had received when he first filed a formal complaint.
“We started negotiations on Friday. We met the pastor for the first time at the police station in the presence of a female police officer. The second time we met at the church office and I was offered Kes.100,000 to drop the case. I was willing to take Kes.200,000 even though I knew it was dirty money,” he said, adding that he received a phone call warning him not to involve the media in the matter.
Victim Speaks Out
According to the publication, the victim said she had been directed by her sister to wash clothes and tidy up the suspect’s one-room house for a fee. She explained that he enticed her with the promise of lunch and the opportunity to watch television soap operas.
“After washing the clothes and cleaning the house, the man told me he loved me. He took advantage of me and promised to marry me after I finished my studies. I stayed in the house until my sister came to fetch me in the evening,” she said.
On Saturday evening, the negotiations hit a snag when the suspect realized that the media had learned of their plan.
By 5 pm, police had apprehended the victim’s sister, who had initially participated in the ‘negotiations’. Isinya Sub-County Police Commander Patrick Manyasi also confirmed the arrest of the church elder.
“The suspect is in custody awaiting arraignment on Monday for defilement. It’s wrong for anyone to try to subvert justice, especially in a case of defilement,” said the police boss.
The church elder is also a driver at Kitengela Glorious Gospel Centre and Glorious Group of Schools.
