Police are detaining a 45-year-old cleric for allegedly defiling a primary school girl at Kopiyo village in Homa Bay Town constituency.
The suspect is being interrogated at Homa Bay police station before he is arraigned after he was arrested on Monday afternoon.
The cleric is reported to have defiled the 13-year-old primary school girl when her parents took her to him for prayers.
Both the perpetrator and the sexual offence survivor come from the same village.
According to neighbours, the girl collapsed some days back and became unconscious before she was taken to the cleric for prayer.
The parents opted to take her to the cleric for prayer instead of the hospital. The suspect is a member of Roho Church.
He is among the clerics who have been offering spiritual guidance to anyone who approaches the church for prayers.
One neighbour said the man has four wives in separate houses in the same home. At the home, there is a house the suspect has turned into a shrine for prayers.
“The man slept with the girl in the shrine when she went for prayers,” the neighbour said.
Subcounty children officer Joseph Otieno said they arrested the clergyman after reports about the defilement.
He said the mother of the girl told them her daughter was defiled when she left her to be prayed for in the shrine.
“We got the information after one of the suspect’s wives reported to a neighbour who conveyed the messages to the chief,” Otieno said.
The mother of the girl has been summoned to record a statement with police at the Homa Bay police station.
“We took the girl to Homa Bay County Teaching and Referral Hospital for medical examination. The results will be used in court,” Otieno said.
Subcounty police commander Sammy Koskei said investigations are ongoing.
“We’ll not hesitate from arresting people who prey on minors. Let people desist from violating the rights of teenage girls,” Koskei said.
