A pastor has been jailed for 15 years for marrying a 17-year-old school girl.
The accused, Pastor Charles Odumba Otieno, was also charged with defiling the form three student on diverse dates between December 1 2009 and January 5 this year.
The Aluor Secondary School students failed to report to her school prompting her parents to report the matter to the police who instituted a search and traced her to the pastor’s home.
The accused was arraigned in court and released on bond pending hearing, but court prosecutor Peter Omare said the pastor eloped with the girl again, prompting the court to cancel the bond this month.
Resident Magistrate Bernard Omwansa said the pastor’s actions showed he was intent on keeping the schoolgirl as his wife and said a deterrent sentence was necessary.
Meanwhile the hearing of a case in which a university student has been charged with defilement took place in a magistrate’s chamber following fears that the scores of the students who had jammed the courtroom would intimidate witnesses from testifying against their colleague.
George Kimani, a student at Laikipia University College has denied defiling and sodomising a minor inside a room at Ewaso Hostels at the main campus on March 8, 2010. Kimani also denied stealing the girl’s cellphone worth Ksh 15,000 and Ksh 1,800 in cash.
Intimidating witnesses
cores of students caused a stir as they thronged the Nyahururu courtroom where Senior Resident Magistrate Alice Mong’are was sitting prompting her to adjourn the case to provide for time for the police to call in reinforcement.
Mrs. Monga’re said the students were intimidating witnesses from testifying prompting her to order for extra security detail within the courtroom and its precincts as she adjourned the hearing till afternoon when adequate security measures were in place.
In her testimony, the minor narrated how the accused lured to the hostel claiming he and his wife would accommodate her for the night as they travelled from Western Kenya to Nyahururu at night.
He said the journey was too dangerous and even cited to her an incident where his cousin was allegedly murdered on a section of the road near Nyahururu town in a carjacking incident.
However when they got to the room, Kimani allegedly raped the girl and sodomised her before locking her inside the room until the following morning. forcefully undressed and raped her severally.
The girl reported the matter to the university’s security officers.
The accused was denied bail and will remain in custody until April 24 when hearing of the case resumes.
-KBC
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