Kisumu County has sued a father for holding mentally ill patients in unspeakable conditions.
In the petition, the county's health department sued the man of God in an application dated January 20 Under Certificate of Urgency.
This is under the provisions of the Public Health Act cap 242 and food drugs and chemical substance Act cap 254 Laws of Kenya and all other enabling provisions of the Law.
The accused, through his lawyer, argued that they were served the petition a few hours before coming to court and therefore needed time to respond.
Arguing before Senior Principal Magistrate Fatuma Rashid, the lawyer stated they needed more time to review the document and file a response.
"My lord, our client received the application yesterday evening after working hours and I only got a copy this morning. We have not had time to peruse the documents," he argued.
He further argued that it would be prejudicial if they were not given a fair hearing.
"Proceeding with the case today will only be prejudicial to my client and amounts to curtailing his rights," he added.
The petitioners, through the county health officer, argued that the matter was urgent and needed to be tackled immediately.
"You honour, this case is urgent considering the situation of the concerned people, their plight and their health conditions which is deplorable,” he countered.
The church sits about 4.8 kilometres from Kisumu City on the Kisumu-Kakamega highway.
Among the allegations against the church is that it has rooms where the women sleep without window panes, exposing them to cold.
There are also no beddings in the semi-permanent structures whose mud walls were already started falling off.
Nonetheless, the magistrate considered the two parties' arguments and ruled that the defendants had the right to be heard.
“I have considered both parties and hereby order the defendants to file responses by Thursday, January 26 ahead of the hearing on Friday 27,”
