- Ongondo who was arrested on April 1 in a lodging with a 17-year-old girl in Kaplong, Sotik, in Bomet county.
- According to a police report, a manager at the restaurant called the station to report that he had seen an older man get into a room with an underage girl.
Kehancha based magistrate James Ongondo has petitioned the High Court seeking to stop the DPP and the DCI from prosecuting him over defilement allegations.
Ongondo was arrested on April 1 in a lodging with a 17-year-old girl in Kaplong, Sotik, in Bomet county.
He wants the High Court to issue conservatory orders barring the DPP, Inspector General of Police and DCI from arresting, arraigning him in court or instituting criminal proceedings against him on the basis of impugned investigations pending the hearing and determination of his application.
In his application filed under urgency, the magistrate, through lawyer John Swaka, wants a stay of his prosecution at the Bomet court.
Ongondo was arrested after the girl in his company informed DCI officers that she was under the age of 18 years, which necessitated his arrest.
He said he is a married man and a father prone to sharing a drink with friends after the conclusion of his official duties, an activity embraced worldwide.
In his petition, the magistrate said he was attending to a social function among his peers when officers escorted him to the DCI for being with an underage girl.
He faults the owner of the bar where he was allegedly found with the minor for failing to verify the age of the girl and allowing her to have alcohol beverage at the establishment.
“At no point did the owner of the establishment verify the age of the girl (name withheld) as alcohol beverage kept trickling to the table. The waiter serving the table did not raise any issue at any point,” he said.
Ongondo also said the manager of the establishment had never seen him in the company of the girl before March 31 or April 1, 2022, and as such, could not attest to her true age.
The magistrate said he has since verified the true age of the girl through the production of her birth certificate, which shows that she is aged 22 years.
According to a police report, a manager at the restaurant called the station to report that he had seen an older man get into a room with an underage girl.
The manager told police that on March 31 at around 9pm, a male customer (Ongondo) booked a room and left the keys to the said room at the counter as he continued to take drinks at the bar.
Later at around 11pm the manager noticed that the customer headed to the room in company of a female who appeared to be under 18 years prompting him to alert the authorities.
“The police went to the said lodging. On arrival, they found the suspect, Ong’ondo, inside his Lexus motor vehicle at the parking yard together with a girl who was established to be 17-years-old,” read part of the police report.
Police visited the scene where they recovered a stained bed sheet and toilet paper in the room.
The suspect and victim were taken to Kapkatet County Hospital for medical examination.
(edited by Amol Awuor)