Bishop terms sexual harassment charge witch hunt, asks court to quash it

Anglican Church of Kenya, Nairobi Diocese bishop, Joel Waweru. [File, Standard]

An Anglican cleric has urged the High Court to quash the sexual harassment charge pressed against him citing bias and lack of clarity on the two counts before a magistrate court.

Bishop Joel Waweru, of Nairobi Diocese in his arguments before Justice Lawrence Mugambi, argued that the first charge was drafted in such a way it had no location or time.

His lawyer Kioko Kilukumi told the court that the charge also does not explain what act constituted sexual harassment.

The judge heard that although the Kibera Law Court magistrate had directed the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) to re-look at the charge sheet, its representative at that court reported a month later that his bosses had directed that he continues with the charge sheet as it was.

"The applicant is a bishop. This sexual harassment is said to have happened between 2018 to 2021. That is a period of four years. In days, that is 1,400 days. They do not say where it took place and what act constitutes sexual harassment. Sexual harassment takes four broad categories. It can be verbal, can be written, can be visual, you are just winking at her at all times. It can be physical, by touching her inappropriately,"' argued Kilukumi.

Whereabouts

He said the allegations are vague and open-ended such that it is impossible to even call a person to testify on his behalf or trace his whereabouts at the time the State claims the offence happened.

He asserted that the charges are a witch-hunt for the man of God and were driven by ulterior motives.

Kilukumi said: "The grouping of this offence to four years, takes away his right to raise an alibi, cannot look at the diary and state where he was. We raised the issue before the trial magistrate and the magistrate ordered that the prosecuting counsel take instructions on the charge sheet and he came after a month and said that his bosses stated he can continue as it is."

Bishop Waweru wants the court to suspend the criminal trial until his case is heard and determined.

His lawyer said the State has lined up three witnesses in the case; the complainant, her husband and the investigating officer.

Allegedly happened

The pastor fears that the lower court can conclude the case within a day. At the same time, the senior lawyer said although the second charge contained the date and details where the offence allegedly happened, the complainant never mentioned such an issue in her statement at the police station.

Kilukumi stated that the prosecution indicated in the charge sheet that the bishop had unintentionally touched the complainant's breasts on June 13, 2021, at Otiende in Langata, Nairobi County.

He read malice in the charges, arguing that the complainant moved to the police immediately after the bishop suspended her to pave the way for investigations.

According to Waweru, it was telling the complainant to remain silent for four years, only for her to go to the police on August 8, 2021, the date she was to start her suspension.

"We have annexed two statements recorded. Because you love details the complainants never stated that she met the bishop anywhere. We are saying, forget touching somebody's breasts, there is no evidence that it ever happened. We have laid out that this woman never raised any issue of sexual harassment for four years. When she was sent on compulsory leave by the applicant, two days later, she went to the police," argued Kilukumi.

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