A pastor in Moi’s Bridge Township who was found in possession of illicit brew was Tuesday detained at the Eldoret GK remand prison after he failed to raise a Sh50,000 cash bail.
Isaac Tenge of New Jerusalem church appeared before Senior Resident Magistrate Rosemary Onkoba and was charged with being in possession of 70 litres of chang’aa whose content was questionable.
The magistrate ordered him to be released on a cash bail of Sh50,000 or alternatively a bond of Sh100,000 with one surety of a similar amount which he could neither raise.
None of the pastor’s church followers were present in court apart from his wife, two sons and daughter in-law.
He was quickly whisked away by prison warden officers into a prison bus and driven to Eldoret GK remand prison alongside other suspects.
Earlier on, the pastor brought to the attention of the court the injuries he sustained on his body when being arrested even as he pleaded for urgent medical attention.
“Your honour, police officers beat my wife, injuring her hands seriously before turning to me by hitting my right hand, thus subjecting me to serious injuries. I need urgent medical attention likewise to my wife,” pleaded the pastor.
While making her ruling on the case, the Magistrate told the cleric to be patient noting that his grievances would be addressed by the state counsel.
The pastor, who was not represented by a lawyer, pleaded not guilty to the charge
The cleric was charged that on September 24, 2023, he was found in possession of illicit brew, popularly known as chang’aa at his Moi’s Bridge home in Soy sub-county, Uasin Gishu County.
He was arrested by a team of police officers attached to Moi’s Bridge police station following a crackdown to weed out the sale of illicit brew in the region.
The officers stormed his homestead following a tip-off from members of the public and seized the illicit brew in a puzzling drama that left scores of his church followers in a state of shock and disbelief.
The case will be mentioned on October 5 2023.