Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) top leadership is on trial at the High Court as Lady Justice Stella Mutuku set February 17 as the date for hearing and cross examination by plaintiff counsel in a contempt of court charges.
Moderator of the 24th Assembly of PCEA Rev. Thegu Mutahi as well as Secretary General Rev. Robert Waihenya are set to take the dock and defend themselves in person as lawyer Andrew Mochu cross examines them in the case where they installed elder David Nderitu Ndumo despite a court order restraining them to do so.
A church member Benjam Njoroge had run to the court to seek the injunction against the installation of Mr. Ndumo as the latter had an ongoing case at the Cooperative Tribunal where he had been accused of failing a Sh5.6 million loan he took at Sheria SACCO.
The amount has since increased to Sh8.3 million after accruing interest and court processing charges as the Tribunal has issued a notice of Show Cause to elder Ndumo.
In his submission, the church member argued that Ndumo’s hands were soiled by the case and that the leadership should have await the determination of the loan default case at the Tribunal before he could be allowed to assume the office of the Honorary Treasurer.
In his submission to the court, Njoroge questioned how a man allegedly refusing to pay a heavy debt burdening his 15 guarantors to pay it would be trusted to take care of Church finances that go beyond a billion annually.
Orders that were granted by Lady Justice Asenath Ongeri.
But upon being served by the retraining order, Rev Thegu Mutahi declined to receive the orders at an installation event held at the St Andrew’s Cathedral in Nairobi last April.
Veteran PCEA cleric Rev Timothy Njoya walked out of the ceremony in protest as Thegu ordered him to bow before leaving the event beamed live on national television.
Consequently, Njoroge informed the court of the contempt and during the hearing, Lady Justice Ongeri gave a stern warning stressing that Court orders must be obeyed and those who don’t must face severe punishment as a lesson to the rest who might contemplate doing so.
But Lady Justice Ongeri had since been transferred to Voi and finally the case is before Lady Justice Mutuku who has set the hearing and cross-examination of both the defendants and the court process server.
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