Kisumu Bishop jailed for 75 years for defiling 3 minors appeals sentencing

A Kisumu Bishop who was sentenced to 75 years in jail for defiling three underage girls and intentionally infecting one with HIV has now appealed the ruling.

The accused, Joseph Agutu Obala, wants the Court of Appeal in Kisumu to overturn the judgment saying the trial magistrate erred in law.

In court papers seen by Citizen Digital, Bishop Agutu has set seven grounds of appeal and accuses the prosecution of doing a shoddy job in their investigations.

He says no forensic analysis (DNA) was conducted to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt before convicting him, adding that the 75-year sentence handed to him was not commensurate with the alleged crimes committed.

In the court papers, the man of the cloth further states that “the trial court failed to appreciate that the prosecution case was made up of evidence of people from the same family which amounted to single evidence.

The accused was reportedly living with the three minors — two aged 15 and the other 14 — at an orphanage.

Appearing before Kisumu Senior Resident Magistrate Pauline Mbulika on December 18, 2018, the bishop was found guilty of three counts of defilement and deliberate transmission of HIV.

The court heard that the accused committed the crimes between April and July 2016 and that he also touched the minors inappropriately in their private parts.

The prosecution lined up four witnesses who narrated to the court how the ‘Bishop’ lured the vulnerable minors into the act after promising to cater for their education.