Noise prayer lands professor in trouble
A medical doctor is among four people charged with assaulting a mathematics professor who is accused of steering noisy prayers at night.
The other suspects include an employee of Kenya Ordinance Factory.
They are accused of attacking the professor, who doubles up as a pastor, during a night vigil he held to cleanse his newly acquired plot for being a nuisance.
They have been jointly charged with assault causing actual bodily harm contrary to section 251 of The Penal Code.
As per the charge sheet, Dr Geoffrey Masika Wechuli an Employee of Kapsabet County Referral Hospital, James Nyamweya Mwamba an employee of Kenya Ordinance Factory, Maurice Obiero, and Ednah Saeyi Khaemba together with others not in court unlawfully assaulted Professor Wilfred Sawanda.
The prosecution told the court that the incident took place on the night of November 9, 2014, at Racecourse estate in Kapseret Sub County.
The accused denied the charge and has been released on bond.
During defence hearing of the case, Dr Masika told the court the complainant was assaulted by angry neighbors who were irritated with noisy prayer and strange chantings from his complainant.
“As neighbours we were vexed with the strange noise that was coming from the professor’s compound and we went out to find out what was going on and that is when some of our angry neighbors allegedly assaulted him hence subjecting him to said injuries,” Dr Wechuli told the court.
However, Dr Wechuli exonerated himself from being among irate neighbours who allegedly attacked the complainant.
Dr Khaemba who admitted that Professor Sawanda was attacked told the court he did not attack the professor due to his hypocritical oath as a medical doctor.
He agreed with the medical report that was presented in court indicating that the professor was injured.
“I agree with the medical report presented in this court by my fellow doctor from Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, however, I was not among people who assaulted the complainant bearing in mind that I have taken an oath of protecting life,” the doctor told the court.
The doctor told the court that during the midnight incident neighbors found lit candles in the compound along the fence making them suspicious about what was going on in the compound in question.
Another witness namely Mr Nyamweya vehemently denied attacking his neighbour even though he admitted he was awakened by other neighbors due to a noisy professor whom he accused of performing scary rituals at night in the name of cleansing prayer.
Principal Magistrate Mogire Onkoba adjourned the defense hearing of the case to January 24, 2024.
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