- The Priest pleaded not guilty to the charges of defilement and indecent assault
- Thika Chief Magistrate Stella Atambo remanded him for a week
Image: FILE
A Catholic priest has been arrested, charged and remanded after he denied defilement charges.
Thika Chief Magistrate Stella Atambo ordered that the priest be held in custody for 14 days pending the determination of his bond application.
Fr Abednego (not his real name) is accused of defiling the same person on diverse dates between 2022 and August 2023 at his home in Nairobi. He also faced an alternative charge of indecent assault.
The priest is based out of Nairobi and had rented a house in Nairobi where he lived with a woman, who according to the investigating officer, was his wife.
Catholic priests aren't allowed to marry due to a long-standing tradition called clerical celibacy. It's important to note that this isn't an official Catholic dogma, but rather a disciplinary rule.
The celibacy requirement is a topic of debate within the church. Some argue it discourages potential priests and contributes to burnout.
Some Catholic priests have been excommunicated after they decide to marry and have children.
Fr Abednego is said to have known the victim since 2017 and lived with her together with the woman. The priest separated from the woman early this year.
According to papers filed in court, the two have been legally married, having gone through an elaborate marriage ceremony under the Kikuyu Customary Law in April 2016.
The duo indicated that they were ready to take care of the victim's basic needs and the priest had financial ability because he was a social worker based in Canada.
The cleric through his lawyer Jacklyn Gitau, applied for his release on bond, an application that was met with opposition by the investigating officer Thomas Musungu and the prosecution led by Christine Torome.
The investigating officer in an affidavit filed in the court noted that the priest will jeopardise the case since both the victim and the priest's legally wed wife are major witnesses in the case.
“The victim has had a special relationship with the accused person to the extent of living in his home and paying her school fees noting that the accused person can easily interfere with the minor against testifying,” Musungu said in the affidavit.
He also indicated that the accused person had at one point threatened one of the key witnesses and the matter was reported at a Nairobi police station where it is still under active investigation.
Musungu also told the court in the affidavit that one of the witnesses in the case was abducted by unknown people and dumped along the Nakuru-Eldoret road, moments after she was summoned by Thika West DCI to record a statement.
“The witness disappeared mysteriously and her abandoned car was later traced and found in Nanyuki,” he noted.
Musungu pointed out in the affidavit that the accused person is a man of influence and means in society and is likely to interfere with the witnesses.
The arguments were echoed by the prosecution led by Christin Torome who argued that the accused being a priest is in a position of influence and power which he can likely use to interfere with the witnesses.
Atambo will rule on the bond application on March 27.