Court acquits blind ‘prophet’ Jacob Wekesa of rape charge

JAcob Wekesa

Jacob Wekesa at the Nakuru Law Courts  in this photo taken on May 18, 2023. 

Photo credit: File I Nation Media Group

A 67-year-old controversial blind 'prophet' accused of having sex with two sisters to cure them of infertility has been acquitted of rape.

Nakuru Resident Magistrate Edward Oboge discharged Jacob Wekesa-a leader of the Legion of Mary faith, for lack of evidence after citing inconsistencies in witness testimony.

Mr Wekesa, who was arrested on 10 January, was charged with three counts of rape and indecent assault.

According to the charge sheet, on January 5, 2023, he allegedly intentionally raped two women aged 19 and 21 at their home in Golf area, Njoro sub-county, Nakuru.

According to prosecution witnesses, the prophet, who claimed to have spiritual eyes to diagnose women's reproductive health problems, sexually assaulted the women when they went to his room to pray.

One of the girls who testified in court said the suspect, who had been received at her home by her parents, called her into his guest room and offered to pray for her.

The woman said she had swelling around her waist, which the man claimed he had the power to cure.

She went to his house around 11pm, where the man told her to turn off the lights and undress before jumping on the bed to 'pray.'

According to the witness, the prophet continued to touch her inappropriately and the next thing she knew, the man was having intercourse with her.

After the incident, the prophet allegedly told her to get dressed and leave the room, assuring her that she would be cured in a day.

When she asked her sister what the problem was, she told her that the Prophet had done the same thing. After two days, the girls reported the incident to their mother, who later reported the matter to the police.

The girls denied knowing the man, claiming that they first met him at their home when he was brought there by their brother.

However, in his defence, the man told the court that he had been invited to the house to lead prayers over a land dispute between the complainant's mother and another woman.

The man claimed to have been further invited by the victims and taken from Taita Taveta to the home, where he was refunded his fare on arrival.

He denied raping the women, saying that his blindness made him no threat to the family.

However, the judge said in his ruling that prosecution witnesses had contradicted each other, raising suspicions of malice against the suspect.

In his ruling, Mr Oboge wondered how the entire family of educated members could be convinced by a blind man that he possessed spiritual powers to diagnose and cure infertility.

"One might also wonder how the girls' father, who was obviously learned, was convinced by a blind defendant that his daughters were infertile and that he had the power to cure them. So much so that he did not bother to test the powers through medical science, but chose to buy prayer items to do so," the judge said.

The judge said the contradictions of the witnesses cast doubt on whether the offence had been committed, given that the victims were educated adults.

"Their testimonies fell short when, despite admitting that they voluntarily had sex with the accused under the guise of being cured of alleged infertility, they believed that the act of sexual intercourse with the accused, if at all, constituted prayer in the ordinary meaning of the word," he said.

The court rejected the suggestion that the blind man could be a danger to society, blaming the women's ignorance.

It questioned why the victims, at their young age, would be so concerned about their ability to give birth that they would subject themselves to a visually impaired man for healing.

He acquitted the man under Section 215 of the Criminal Procedure Code.