Worshipers plead guilty to illegally exhuming body : The Standard

The six suspects who were arrested by police in Naivasha exhuming the body of a minor have been fined Sh50,000 or serve one year in jail by a Naivasha court. The suspects, who include the mother of the 11-year-old, pleaded guilty to a charge of disinterring a dead body. On Tuesday evening, residents of Karati village were left in shock after a group of worshippers led by two pastors descended on the grave of Esther Muceke and exhumed the body. The group that believed that the girl would resurrect started praying for her before members of the public informed police who in turn arrested the six.

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And the suspects Jane Njoki who is the mother, her sister Margaret Wanjiru and brother Harun Mwangi were arraigned before Principal Magistrate Esther Kimilu charged with the offence. The other three were the Titus Gitonga and James Kahiga both pastors from Kingdom Touch Ministry and another worshipper Deborah Muiru. The six were charged that on January 8, 2019, in Karati village of Naivasha they disinterred the body of the minor which is against the law. The first three who included the mother pleaded guilty and were fined Sh50,000 or one year in jail for the offence. Later in the day, the three others who had first denied the charges changed their plea and pleaded guilty before they were slapped with the same fine.

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The mother Njoki told the court that she was traumatised by the death of her third born daughter and was not aware of what was going on during the exhumation process. Tears flowing down her cheeks, the mother of three asked for lenience from the court adding that she was yet to come to terms with the death. The other suspects while apologising to the court called for a humane fine adding that they believed that their faith and prayers would bring back the minor. The magistrate could however hear none of this and sent them to Naivasha prison as fellow worshipers embarked on sourcing the fines. The minor died on December 23 after she fell while praying with her friends and was buried on the family land on the December 26

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Related Topics

Body ExhumedMinor's Body ExhumedKarati VillageCrime