By Lorna Abuga.
A magistrate handling the case in which a male high school teacher in Njoro is accused of sexually molesting six girls disqualified herself over loss of objectivity in the case.
Nakuru Chief Magistrate, Doreen Mulekyo disqualified herself after the State Counsel in the case Nelly Ngovi made a fourth application to be served with an amended or a substituted charge sheet which had the correct dates which the Swahili teacher from Njoro Girls School, Paul Gicheru, is accused of sexually molesting the girls.
Mulekyo said that she was dissatisfied in the manner over which the prosecution had handled the case owing to the fact that on the case had previously been adjourned three times so as to give the prosecution more time to amend the charge sheet and ensure the dates the minors recorded in their statements tallies with ones the investigation officer had recorded on the charge sheet.
“The Prosecutor is still asking for more time to amend charge sheet and yet for the past one month she has made the same application. Therefore there is need for the prosecution to put her house in order,” she said.
The defense lawyer Karanja Mbugua was also not satisfied in the way the prosecution was handling the case.
“This case has been delayed on the grounds that the prosecution needed additional time to come up with new a charge sheet and even today she still wants the same to be done,” said Mbugua.
“I advise her to dig into the matter to get the correct facts so that we can continue with the case without further delay,”
he added even as the prosecutor continued with her request.
The court had been told that accused person allegedly committed the acts between May 2014 and June 2015. He denied the allegation and was granted a bond of Sh500,000 or a cash bail of Sh200,000.
Mulekyo instructed the teacher to report to the Njoro Police Station on a weekly basis to ensure that he does not abscond the bail or bond terms.
The Swahili Teacher is facing charges of defilement and five counts of indecent acts where he purportedly, unlawfully and intentionally touched the private organs of the under aged girls between 15 years and 16 years. He is said to have sought sexual favors from the minors so as to award them favorable grades in the examinations.
It will be noted that, in criminal cases such as this one, it is usually the responsibility of the prosecution to prove ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ that the crime was committed. It is also worthy to note that many cases have been lost through mistakes of the prosecution.
