A man charged with defiling two minors was on Thursday denied the freedom to go and bury his mother following objection from the prosecution.
Josephat Munyua Festo had pleaded with Makadara senior resident magistrate Lewis Gatheru to free him to bury his mother.
The 69-year-old man is accused of defiling the girls on February 29 at Mukuru kwa Njenga slums, Nairobi. The girls are aged 10 and 11 years.
Constable Joseph Limakuru asked the court to allow the detention of the accused for 14 days pending investigations.
He said the prosecution is yet to file the P3 form and record witness statements.
The officer said investigations are slow because of coronavirus pandemic and getting medics to fill the required forms is difficult.
He said the accused lives near the minors' home and he was likely to interfere with witnesses.
Munyua objected to his detention, saying he had lost his mother and needed to bury her.
“My mother just died. I also have chest problems and I require treatment,” he said.
The court also ordered the detention of James Makori for allegedly defiling a 13-year-old girl on March 9 in Embakasi.
Constable Hawa Mohamed told the court that the police are yet to conclude the investigations and sought to hold the suspect for 14 days.
Gatheru allowed the petition. Munyua and Makori will be at Embakasi police station until April 1 when their cases will be mentioned.
Edited by R.Wamochie
