A children’s home in Thika run by a Nigerian missionary is under investigation over allegations of child molestation.
Caritas Mariano Children’s Home was closed down yesterday and Father Bethrand Nwakwachuku, the missionary, immediately arrested. Although he identifies himself as “Father”, Nwakwachuku clarified that he is not a Catholic Priest and described himself as a missionary from Spain. He holds Nigerian and Spanish passports.
The home, whose director is Nwakwachuku, was started in 2004 to cater for orphans and children from poor families.
Yesterday, the County Children Co-ordinator Mwambia Mong’are said they had received numerous complaints of sexual harassment from volunteers at the children’s home as well parents, some dating back three years ago.
“We are investigating the home over the allegations of rampant children molestation and sexual harassment by volunteers at the children’s home. The State will press charges against the director and any other staff who will be found culpable,” said Mr Mong’are.
Thika Resident Magistrate BJ Bartoo ordered the home closed until it is inspected by Government officials.
Some 139 children at the home were transferred to Mama Ngina Children’s Home in Nairobi.
Mong’are said the home, which was previously registered as a charitable children’s organisation, does not have a registration certificate after the one it had expired in 2014.
“The children’s home and the schools are in deplorable condition and are unsafe for human habitation. The sanitation is very poor which is a recipe for health hazards,” he said.
Nwakwachuku was also accused of running a primary, secondary school and a dispensary without the necessary registration and set standards.
Pleas Of Innocence
During his arrest yesterday, his his pleas of innocence to the children’s officer and the police fell on deaf ears after he was informed that he had to go to the police station for questioning.
He vehemently denied the sexual harassment allegations, saying no cases of molestation have ever been reported at the home.
“Those are false accusations. There is nothing like that since no one has ever raised such an issue with us or the police,” he told the officers as he was led away.
He tried to attack journalists who had accompanied the officers and almost destroyed one of their cameras.
Thika sub-county children officer Rebecca Kariuki said they were investigating circumstances under which a Standard Seven pupil died at the home. The officer said the death of the pupil had raised eyebrows as it was not reported to authorities.
“We will be carrying out a post-mortem to ascertain what caused her death. We are also probing the possibility of a cult after it emerged that children and students were being taught some doctrine (sic) saying it was immoral for them to reveal to anyone what was going on at the home,” she said.
However, Martin Mbae, a teacher at the school exonerated the management from blame over the death.
“The pupil fainted and we took her to the school dispensary when she was given first aid and referred to Thika Level 5 Hospital where she died. She had on previous occasions undergone successful head surgeries,” he said.
