Judge orders retrial of bishop in rape charges

[Photo: Courtesy]

A judge has ordered a fresh trial for a bishop sentenced to 10 years in prison for rape.

Andrew Atibo Makokha was convicted after he pleaded guilty to raping a member of his church at Masingo estate, Kakamega East.

After the sentence, Makokha appealed the decision by the Senior Resident Magistrate Benson Khapoya. During appeal, Atibo told the court that the trial magistrate never warned him of the consequences of pleading guilty.

High Court judge Lady Justice Ruth Sitati while quashing the sentence, noted that such a plea of guilty must be taken cautiously, and the records must show that the accused understood what he was admitting to.