Pastor James Ng’ang’a spends second night in custody

Televangelist James Ng’ang’a on Thursday appeared in court to answer charges of causing death by careless driving, almost one month after the accident in which Ms Mercy Njeri was killed.

Pastor Ng’ang’a denied the charges and was sent back to Gigiri police station where he will spend another night awaiting a decision on his bail application on Friday.

Limuru Senior Resident Magistrate Timothy Ole Tanchu is hearing the case involving an accident at Manguo on the Nairobi-Naivasha highway on July 26.

Pastor Ng’ang’a, of the Neno Evangelism Centre, also denied failing to report an accident, giving false information and conspiring to defeat justice.

Mr Tanchu ordered the pastor and his co-accused — Inspector Christopher Nzilu, Inspector Patrick Baya and Simon Kuria — to be brought back to court on Friday at 11am, when their bond application will be heard.

Dressed in a light blue suit with the long jacket favoured by pastors, the suspect was driven to court shortly after 9am in a police pick-up truck.

According to the charge sheet, Pastor Ng’ang’a, driving a Range Rover registration number KCD 060Q, drove dangerously, disregarding all the circumstances including the condition of the said road and the amount of traffic and caused the death of Ms Njeri.

Ms Njeri’s husband, Mr Martin Mbugua Ndung’u, survived with multiple injuries.

The preacher is also charged with failing to report an accident at a nearby police station within 24 hours.

The third count was that on August 6, at the Traffic headquarters in Ruaraka, Nairobi, he lied to SSP Julius Wanjohi that he was not the driver of the Range Rover, therefore stopping the officer from taking action against him.

The pastor also faced a joint count of conspiring to mislead the investigating officer at Tigoni in order to defeat the course of justice.

NEGLECT OF DUTY

Mr Ng’ang’a was arrested by Flying Squad officers in Nairobi on Wednesday and detained at the Gigiri Police Station.

Mr Baya, the Tigoni traffic police commandant, was charged that on July 26, he neglected his duties by willingly failing to conduct proper investigations into the accident.

Inspector Nzilu was charged with neglect of duty by concealing the identity and whereabouts of Pastor Ng’ang’a, who he knew was driving the vehicle involved in the accident.

The officer, who is attached to the Kenya Police Air Wing, was also charged with lying to Constable Alexander Kitonga that the Range Rover was driven by Mr Kuria.

Mr Kuria, the man accused of covering up for the pastor in the matter, is out on a Sh100,000 cash bail and was also charged with conspiracy to defeat justice and giving false information in an attempt to cover-up an accident. He appeared in court on Thursday without the neck brace he has worn in two previous court appearances.

Lawyer Assa Nyakundi appeared for Pastor Ng’ang’a, while Cliff Ombeta represented Inspector Nzilu. Lawyer Benjamin Makokha stood in for Prof Tom Ojienda, who is representing Mr Baya, while Mr Cliff Oduk is representing Mr Kuria.

Pastor Ng’ang’a’s followers packed the courtroom and those who could not find space in the court cheered from outside, forcing the magistrate to warn them.

Some waved placards, with one reading: “What God can do, No man can do”, a popular saying in the church.

Administration Police officers in riot gear kept watch.

WOULD DO ANYTHING

The prosecution, led by Catherine Mwaniki, requested the court to deny the accused bail, arguing that apart from being a flight risk, they were also likely to interfere with witnesses.

Ms Mwaniki said the four were likely to intimidate, interfere and threaten witnesses who have implicating evidence and that their security was not guaranteed.

State Counsel Alloys Kemo said the matter had generated great public interest and claimed Pastor Ng’ang’a’s followers would do anything for him.

But the defence lawyers objected, saying the arguments were speculative.

Mr Ombeta said the accused had been cooperating with investigators and would continue to do so, adding that they were entitled to a cash bail, which is enshrined in the Constitution.

Mr Makokha and Mr Oduk asked the court to release their clients on a free bond or reasonable cash bail since they would be unable to raise large sums of money for bail.

“My client has not even paid me. I am doing pro-bono work for him,” Mr Makokha said, in reference to Mr Baya, who has been in the police force for 30 years.

Meanwhile, there was a standoff at the Gigiri Police Station when investigating officers and clinical officers tried to take blood samples from Pastor Ng’ang’a for DNA analysis.

Pastor Ng’ang’a refused to allow samples to be taken, claiming the officers had an outdated kit.

“We were not sure the samples would be kept in safe custody and not tampered with. We also needed to address a few issues before the samples are taken,” Mr Ombeta said.

The lawyer said the officers were right to want to obtain the samples but they did not follow procedures.

“We shall address the issues tomorrow in court,” Mr Ombeta said.