An Anglican Church of Kenya pastor is being held at Embu police station for allegedly raping his seven-year-old orphan niece.
The girl told neighbours the man has raped her on several occasions at his Spring Valley Estate home in Embu. She said her uncle called her to the house on Tuesday, locked the door, pushed her to the sofa, then raped her.
The man allegedly threatened to harm her if she told anyone about the rape. “I was playing with my friends when my uncle called me to his house. He undressed me and did a bad thing to me and told me not to tell anyone about it,” the girl said.
The girl, who lives with her grandparents, had visited her uncle and she said the man waited for his wife and child to leave and then pounced on her. She said he thought he was calling her to send her to buy something from the shops.
Neighbours said they had heard rumours that one of the workers at a construction site near the estate had defiled a girl and on enquiring, they found out it was the pastor who defiled his niece.
The neighbours reported the rape at the police station and the girl was referred to the Embu Level 5 Hospital for examination and treatment.
Embu West subcounty police boss Francis Sang confirmed police arrested the clergyman and that the girl had been taken to the hospital for examination.
If results show the girl was raped, the pastor will be charged, he said. The man has denied raping the girl. The number of cases involving clergymen raping minors has been on the rise.
Wolf in sheep’s clothing? Rape investigation
A seven-year-old girl who stays with her grandparents said her uncle, a pastor, raped her. She says the man has raped her on several occasions. He allegedly waited until her aunt and cousin left then pounced on her. The girl said: “I was playing with other children when my uncle told me to enter his house. He undressed me and did a bad thing to me .”