Embu court frees pastor accused of sexually assaulting 23-year-old girl
The
Embu Law Courts on Thursday acquitted a Full Gospel Church pastor who was accused
of sexually assaulting a 23-year-old undergraduate student.
Pastor
Benson Mwaniki Njuki was freed after the prosecution failed to establish a
prima facie case against him over the alleged offence.
He
had been charged with intentionally and unlawfully using his fingers to penetrate
the private parts of the girl without her consent between May 1st
and 2nd, 2023 within the church premises at Gaturi location in Embu
North sub-county.
In
a separate charge, the preacher was alleged to have committed an indecent act
with an adult by caressing her genitalia without her consent.
The
magistrate noted that they were too many discrepancies in the case, as the complainant
claimed that Mwaniki inserted his fingers into her vagina under the guise of
deliverance prayers and in the presence of another witness.
In
his ruling, the judge stated that the complainant’s conduct was not consistent
with a person who had been wronged or had anything done to her without her
consent.
This
since the girl attended prayers on the first day and did not report or say
anything to anyone, and then went back again on the second day and did not
report the alleged crime to her father, only to her mother with whom they both agreed
to keep quiet.
It
was also established that she failed to seek his brother’s company to the
church despite him suggesting it, and further did not report the matter to the
police or any other authority.
The
judge stated that, as a matter of fact, the matter was only before the court because
of the girl’s parents, and that her demeanour when giving evidence was
inconsistent with that of a person who had been gravely offended.
The
magistrate also added that the complainant could not truthfully answer why she
went to the church with her trouser tied only with sisal, and why she needed
prayers all together.
The
court noted that the complainant went back to the same church the following day,
and later went back to campus where she was summoned by police after her father
had reported the matter to police 24 days after the alleged offence.
"Having
considered the above authorities the court finds that the prosecution has
failed to establish prima facie case against the accused person and accordingly
acquits him of the offence of sexual assault,” read the ruling.
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