Muslim cleric charged with defiling 3-year-old daughter

Mohamed Ahmed, alias Ustadhi, when he appeared before Senior Principle Magistrate Diana Mochache in a Shanzu, Mombasa, court on June 28, 2016 charged with defiling his three-year-old stepdaughter. The case will be heard in July 19, 2016. PHOTO | WACHIRA MWANGI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The accused faces a second charge of committing an indecent act on the minor.
  • The magistrate declined to grant the accused bond until the minor testifies, saying cases of defilement were on the rise.
  • She ordered that the accused be remanded at the Shimo La Tewa Maximum Prison for two weeks.
  • The case will be heard on July 19, 2016.

A Muslim cleric has been charged in a Shanzu court in Mombasa with defiling his three-year-old stepdaughter.

Mohamed Ahmed, alias Ustadhi, denied the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Diana Mochache.

The court heard that the accused defiled the minor when her mother had gone to attend to other duties away from home.

According to the charge sheet, the accused defiled the girl on diverse dates between July 2013 and 2015 at Kwa Bullo, in Kisauni Sub-County, Mombasa County.

The accused faces a second charge of committing an indecent act on the minor.

The magistrate, however, declined to grant the accused bond until the minor testifies, saying cases of defilement were on the rise.

"I have lots of cases of defilement and I decline to release the accused on bond. Most times parents have been compromised and in other cases we have had parents and victims disappearing," the magistrate said.

She ordered that the accused be remanded at the Shimo La Tewa Maximum Prison for two weeks pending the hearing of the matter.

The magistrate also ordered that the minor be taken to a psychiatrist to determine whether she is fit to testify.

The case will be heard on July 19, 2016.

(Editing by Martin Kinyanjui)