A fake Kenyan pastor was on Tuesday sentenced to six months in jail after he conned a Nanyuki trader Sh12,000 by pretending he had powers to cast out demons.
The accused, Mr James Kigera, 58, pleaded guilty to the charges of fraudulently obtaining the money from Bessy Kanana on May 17 at Nanyuki open air market.
During the hearing, it was submitted that Mr Kigera approached Ms Kanana at her place of work at Nanyuki market and told her that demons had taken control of her life making her business lag behind.
The pastor claimed that he had powers to exorcise demons that had allegedly blocked Ms Kanana's business and asked her to part with Sh20,000 for the ‘pastor’ to cast out the demons to allow her business grow and enable her to buy a piece of land.
Ms Kanana did not have the full amount and offered the con pastor Sh12,000 after which he conducted a short prayer that was meant to kick out the demons.
The accused then instructed her client to walk away for seven kilometres without carrying anything.
When she returned, the man had disappeared. It dawned on her that she had been conned of her money.
She searched for the pastor but he was nowhere to be found. Over the weekend, Ms Kanana spotted the con pastor in Nanyuki Town and raised an alarm where passers-by apprehended him and handed him over to the police.
Mr Kigera was arraigned in Court before Principal Magistrate Waititu Gichimu where he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six months imprisonment or a fine of Sh50,000.
