A pastor from Moi’s Bridge in Uasin Gishu county was arraigned in an Eldoret court charged with possession 70 litres of chang’aa.
The cleric was found in possession of the illicit liquor on Monday and was detained at the Eldoret remand prison for failing to raise Sh50,000 cash bail.
Isaac Tenge of New Jerusalem Church was arraigned before Eldoret senior resident magistrate Rosemary Onkoba and charged with being in possession of liquor whose content was questionable.
The magistrate ordered him to be released on a cash bail of Sh50,000 or an alternative bond of Sh100,000 with one surety of a similar amount. The cleric was unable to raise either.
Tenge was charged that on September 24, 2023, he was found in possession of an illicit brew, popularly known as chang’aa, at his Moi’s Bridge home in Soy subcounty, 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 security agencies stormed the man of God’s homestead following a tip-off from members of the public and seized the illicit brew, an occurrence that left his church followers and residents in shock and disbelief.
Pastor Tenge seemed to have been abandoned by his flock, as none of the church followers were present in court apart from his wife and three children. HE pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The man of the clothe was bundled into a prison bus alongside other suspects and driven off to Eldoret remand prison after failing to meet the bail terms.
Earlier, the pastor had claimed before the court that he had sustained injuries occasioned by arresting officers and pleaded to the court that he needed urgent medical attention.
“Your honour, police officers beat my wife and I causing us bodily harm. I need urgent medical attention, likewise to my wife,” claimed the pastor.
The case will be mentioned on October 5.