Muslim cleric handed 10 years in jail for sex tourism

A Nakuru court on Monday jailed a Muslim cleric for 10 years for promoting sex tourism involving Kenyan girls in foreign capitals.

Sheikh Ali Samoja, a former headteacher at Bilal Muslim Mission in Nakuru, was convicted of trafficking a 15-year-old minor to Nairobi where she was reportedly defiled by Sayyid Muktadha, a Lebanese as they awaited to relocate to Lebanon.

Resident Magistrate Judicaster Nthuku said the prosecution had proved the case beyond reasonable doubt, adding that the teacher betrayed the trust bestowed upon him by the girl’s parents.

“To deter others in the society from committing similar offences, the court hereby sentences accused to 10 years in jail,” she said.

According to court documents, Samoja committed the offence in July 2012 at the Muslim mission in Nakuru’s Freehold Estate.

Samoja told the court that it was due to financial constraints in the girl’s family that he had offered to assist her by linking her to the Lenanese who was to offer her a job in Lebanon.

MINOR WAS DEFILED
The court also heard that the Muslim cleric arranged for the travel of the minor to Nairobi from where she was supposed to be taken to Lebanon.

A medical examination report presented in court by Dr Justus Nondi of the Rift Valley General Hospital in Nakuru indicated that the minor may have been defiled.

The court heard that Samoja was arrested while planning to travel to Lebanon after the racket was unearthed.

In mitigation, the accused pleaded for leniency from the court, saying he was the sole breadwinner of a young family.

However, the magistrate said she had considered the accused’s mitigation and that the court was lenient enough to sentence him to 10 years.

The court allowed the accused 14 days to appeal the sentence.