A Muslim cleric has been arraigned before a Shanzu Law Court to answer to charges of defilement.
Mohamed Ahmed, alias Ustadhi, is accused of defiling his three-year-old stepdaughter at their home in Mombasa.
The court heard that the accused allegedly committed the act when the mother of the girl had gone to attend to other duties away from home.
The prosecution told the court that the accused allegedly committed the crime on diverse dates between July 2013 and 2015 at Kwa Bullo in Kisauni Sub-County, Mombasa County.
The accused is facing a second charge of committing an indecent act on the minor, contrary to sexual offence act.
The accused who denied the charges before the court filed an application to be released on a reasonable bail pending the next case hearing, a move which was opposed by the prosecution.
Senior Principal Magistrate Diana Mochache however declined to grant the accused bail and ordered for him to be remanded at the Shimo La Tewa Maximum Prison.
“I decline to release the accused on bond because he might interfere with evidence. Most times parents have been compromised and in other cases we have parents and victims disappearing,” said the magistrate.
Magistrate Mochache who requested that the accused be taken to hospital for mental assessment also ordered that the minor be taken to a psychiatrist to determine whether she is fit to testify.
The case will be heard on July 19.