Did Bungoma pastor accused of impregnating a 16-year-old girl lure her with Sh100?

A Video Grab photo of Pastor Johnstone Imbuka (In black suit and green shirt) of the ' prayer palace' church in Kanduyi who is alleged to have impregnated a Class Eight school leaver 16yrs minor

The Bungoma pastor who reportedly impregnated a 16-year-old who had just sat her KCPE has denied the allegations and instead pointed an accusing finger at local boys.

Pastor Johnstone Imbuka of Prayer Palace Church in Kanduyi has also accused the girl’s mother of tarnishing his name and that of his church in an attempt bring disquiet among his congregation.  “I have been educating, clothing and feeding this girl, yet people are now accusing me of making her pregnant. God will deal with them, because I have never slept with the girl,” he protested.

Residents of Namuyemba estate in the outskirts of Bungoma, led by a child rights activist, Elizabeth Situma, are agitating for the immediate arrest of the pastor. Situma said she has been investigating the matter.

Pastor Imbuka, she noted, was almost busted before allegedly sneaking the girl out through a backdoor.

Stella Nafula, the girl’s mother who is also member of the church, said that, “I realised my daughter  did not seem okay, and when I confronted her, she confessed that she has been having an affair with the pastor and that she was three months pregnant.”

Upon confronting the pastor about the pregnancy, Nafula, who is a widow, claims the pastor arrogantly dismissed her. “He rudely kicked me out and warned me against confronting him with what he described as silly questions,” she says. “I am traumatised because my own pastor took advantage of our poverty to sexually exploit my daughter. I need justice for my daughter who is yet to complete her education,” lamented the widow.

The girl revealed that she had an affair with the ‘man of God’ for three years. “He lured me into his house with Sh100. We would sleep together for several days while his wife was a way on business. We have been lovers for a while and he even came to my former school pretending to be my father. We would meet in his church and nobody would suspect us, since I was a choir member. Neither my mother nor his wife knew about it until I became pregnant,” says the girl.

She adds: “When the pastor realised that I was pregnant, he told me to abort and offered to take me to Nairobi. But I was scared and refused to terminate the pregnancy.”

Felistus Wangwe, a neighbour of the pastor expressed her disappointment at the scandal, given that the pastor was their marriage counsellor. “How can we trust him now, when he is the one preying on girls young enough to be his daughters?” she asked.

Bungoma County Children’s Officer, Alice Wanyonyi, confirmed they have summoned Pastor Imbuka to appear before them on December 15 to explain the incident, which some church members now say has made them the laughing stock of the village.