• A three-judge bench of Asike Makhandia, Gatembu Kairu and Agnes Murgor last Friday dismissed the appeal.
• Omolo committed the offence in 2011.
Image: COURTESY
A pastor serving a life sentence for defiling a 10-year-old girl has had his appeal dismissed.
Patrick Omolo was charged with defiling the child in 2011.
The girl had a mental disability and the priest claimed he was exorcising evil spirits. He was convicted of the offence.
Omolo appealed against the decision at the High Court, which upheld the decision. He moved to the Court of Appeal.
A three-judge bench of Asike Makhandia, Gatembu Kairu and Agnes Murgor last Friday ruled that Omolo’s ground of appeal had no merit. It was even an afterthought as it was not raised in the first appellate court.
“There is absolutely no merit in the complaint by the appellant that his defence was not given due consideration by the two courts below. The trial court reverted to the defence and found it wanting. On the whole, therefore, the appeal lacks merit and is accordingly dismissed in its entirety,” the judges ruled.
The prosecution said the victim had mental retardation having suffered from autistic spectrum disorder. At the time, she was staying with her mother and siblings.
The court heard that on August 11, 2011, the victim’s mother received a message from their landlady that there was a pastor at her house who could pray for the victim. She left for the house with the victim in tow.
Upon arrival, they met the pastor who turned out to be Omolo. He conducted some prayers for those who had come besides the victim and her mother; after which, he informed her that there were evil spirits in her house that were making the victim sick and which he needed to exorcise.
The trio proceeded to the victim’s house and on arrival, the pastor sent away all the children who were in the house claiming they might be possessed with the same evil spirits he was about to exorcise.
He then instructed the mother not to open the windows and asked for some water in a basin.
“He also sought tea leaves and some salt, which he mixed in a basin of water and started sprinkling the mixture around the house. He, thereafter, asked for anointing oil, which she did not have. The appellant then requested the victim’s mother to go to the shops and buy the same,” the judgment reads.
The complainant’s mother took about 30 minutes to come back and when she did, she found the door, which she had left ajar, closed.
She met Omolo at the doorstep and he gave her a basin containing water mixed with blood which he instructed her to pour into the toilet.
Omolo instructed her to recite the Lord’s Prayer 12 times.
When she came back, she was given another basin containing blood mixed with water and the victim’s underpants which she was also told to pour in the toilet and continue praying as previously instructed.
The mother narrated that she did so and when she went back she was again given yet another basin containing a mucus-like substance with similar instructions.
Thereafter, she was allowed into her house by Omolo.
“She was shocked to find the victim half-naked and seated on the bed with her legs wide open. The bedsheets were soaked in blood and when she sought to know from Omolo what had happened; he told her that the evil spirits had sexual intercourse with the victim and instructed her to dress her up,” the court was told.
As the victim’s mother was doing so, Omolo attempted to rape her in full view of the victim. He unsuccessfully tried to rape her.
Instead, he inserted his fingers into her private’s parts and in the ensuing struggle, Omolo consoled her saying he was not serious about raping her.
After she was done with dressing the victim, she escorted him back to Kariuki’s house and later to a bus stage where he left.
Two weeks after the incident, she noticed when washing the victim that there was a discharge from her private parts, which had a foul smell. She sought medical attention where primary examination indicated she had been defiled.
The matter was reported to the police and later the victim taken to hospital and was confirmed to have been defiled.
Dr Josephine Otieno, a child adolescence psychiatrist from Kenyatta National Hospital, examined her and confirmed that she suffered from an autistic mental disorder and did not have the capacity to have a conversation or understand court proceedings.
In his defence, Omolo denied knowing the victim or ever meeting her as contended by the prosecution. He, however, conceded the fact that he was a pastor and that sometimes in August 2011 he went to her landlady's house for prayers. He was accompanied by Pastor Lumumba.
They met with more than 20 people, amongst them some four children, although he could not confirm whether the victim was one of them. He stated that he conducted prayers between 11am and 5pm. He denied that he conducted any prayers in the house of the victim’s mother.
Nonetheless, he admitted that he was escorted to the bus stage by the people he had prayed for, including the victim’s mother.
He blamed Lumumba for the predicament that befell him following the visit, saying the same pastor had warned him against interfering with gifts from his followers in the area.