Renowned Father John Pesa of Holy Ghost Coptic Church has found himself in hot soup after he was ordered by the court to pay Sh500,000 as compensation fee for detaining a KCSE student for nearly two years.
According to the Standard, the priest reportedly detained the student from July 2017 to May 2019 forcing him to miss his National Examinations.
In the ruling by High Court Judge Tripisa Cherere, every student has a right to education and that should not be compromised on the basis of religious beliefs and practices.
“In this respect, I am persuaded that the 3rd Respondent not only failed in his duty to take the student to school but by removing him from school, also breached his right to education. Detaining him also subjected him to psychological torture,” she ruled on Thursday, October 22.
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The boy’s parents argued that after realizing their son was ill, they took him to the priest for prayers where he detained him in heavy metal chains, refusing to let him go.
The priest however refuted claims that he tortured the student adding that the court was not provided with medical documents to prove the claims.
Father came into the limelight following a meeting with Deputy President William Ruto with the famous phrase “Solomon killed Goliath,”
He was trying to liken Deputy President William Ruto to “David” who slew the giant in the Bible. Defending his narration, the priest stated that he is advanced in age hence the mix-up.
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Since his visit to the second in command who is looking to succeed his boss, President Uhuru Kenyatta, the man of the cloth said he had been receiving death threats.
Addressing the press, Father Pesa claimed that a group of people went to his church located at Kanyakwar area on the Kisumu-Kakamega road on Tuesday demanding money that he supposedly received from Ruto at his Sugoi home.
“I feel my life is in danger after being threatened,” Pesa added.
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The cleric who has since reported the matter at Kondele police station in Kisumu denied receiving money from the “hustler.”
He told a local daily that he spent Sh6,000 to fuel his two motor vehicles as he claimed that other Bishops received more money.
“I only remained with Sh4,000 after spending. This is wrong because I have learnt that some Bishops were given more than what I received. This must be condemned because such monies should not be given in a discriminatory manner,” he said.
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