Fr Kizito freed for lack of evidence
TOM MARUKO | NATION
Lawyer Cliff Ombeta and members of the Koinonia Old Boys Beneficiaries Welfare Association address a press conference at Shalom House on May 27, 201 soon after it was revealed that the Catholic priest had been released by the police.
What you need to know:
- Lawyer queries why charges not preferred against him yet he was in custody for over 24 hours
Catholic priest Renato Kizito Sesana was released on Friday after investigators said medical tests had failed to tie him down to sexual abuse accusations.
Fr Kizito was arrested on Thursday morning after being accused of sexually abusing his 26-year-old secretary.
Kilimani police boss Bernard Muli said the secretary was taken for medical examination, which showed he had been sexually assaulted.
Fr Kizito was also examined by police surgeon Zephania Kamau but on Friday police said the results were negative.
The day for the Comboni missionary started with the drama of being taken to the Kibera law courts without being arraigned before a magistrate to his release by the criminal investigations department.
CID director Ndegwa Muhoro told the Saturday Nation his office had taken over the case.
He, however, said releasing him did not mean there was totally no evidence. “He is innocent until proven guilty and I felt there was need for a deeper investigation,” he said.
The priest’s lawyer, Mr Cliff Ombeta, said if investigations did not yield anything, his client would take action against the accuser.
He was addressing a press conference at the Shalom House in the company of the Koinonia Old Beneficiaries Welfare Association.
The lawyer vowed to demand clarification from the Police Commissioner on why his client was not arraigned before a magistrate on Friday and why charges were not preferred against him yet he had been in police custody for more than 24 hours.
“Police should have fully investigated the case before arresting him,” said Mr Ombeta.
The Koinonia Community demanded action against Fr Kizito’s accuser “for levelling false allegations against him”.
But Mr Muhoro said it was too early to say the man made false claims.
The group said allegations against Fr Kizito were meant to act as a build-up to revive a thwarted case almost two years ago in which he was accused of sexually abusing many children over the past 20 years.
The Attorney-General ordered the case closed for lack of evidence.
