Our German benefactor turned abuser, sodomy victims tell court

It has been years, but the trauma that victims say they endured at the hands of a German citizen they had grown to trust, is still fresh.

The more than 15 victims had hoped for a bright future and welcomed Martin Hermann Baumgartner’s help with open arms. Little did they know what was awaiting them as the man started preying on them.

The victims were aged between 10 and 17 at the time of meeting him. Hermann, 63, is facing 14 criminal charges ranging from defilement, sexual assault and trafficking. The charge sheet indicated that he committed the offences between 2006 and 2023.

He was arrested on February 14, 2023, and charged on February 20 but denied the charges before Senior Resident Magistrate Emmanuel Soita. He was released on a Sh1 million bond with a surety of a similar amount and surrendered his passports to the court.

Witnesses who testified in the case said Hermann acted friendly, allowing them access to his home, offering them food, and even taking some of them to school. Those who asked for Christmas gifts also got them -- but at a cost.

The victims testified before Principal Magistrate Vincent Adet. Lawyer David Mongeri is representing Hermann while Katherine Chepkulul is acting for the victims.

One of the victims said they did as the man wished due to their dependence on him.

“Martin told me he is a farmer and also does charity work and that he helps the poor,” said KV while giving his testimony.

KV, 17, in his statement said he is emotionally and mentally disturbed.

“I am never at peace because of what Martin did to me,” he said.

The teen said he met Hermann in March 2022 while he was looking after cows on his farm. He said the German asked him what had happened to his eyes and upon explaining, he promised to help. He said Hermann asked him to visit his home after two weeks so that he would be taken to hospital.

He agreed and was taken to a hospital in Maili Saba. KV said he was later taken to Lions Hospital in Nairobi where he was treated in April 2022. He said he shared a bed with Martin while in Nairobi and he defiled him.

He recalled a day when Hermann walked in front of him naked.

“One day Martin walked in front of me naked. I faced down in shame, and when he noticed my discomfort, he asked me to follow him to the bathroom. He told me if I scrubbed his back, I would not fear again,” KV added.

KV narrated that one Sunday in October 2022, Hermann made him massage his genitals. “Due to my dependence on him, I massaged his private parts until he ejaculated. I was so embarrassed,” he recalled.

KV said that on December 23, 2022, he asked Hermann for money to buy clothes for Christmas. The request was granted on condition that he would massage his genitals.

“I had no option but to do it,” he stated. He said that afterward, they went to Wanyororo B shopping centre where he bought him clothes worth Sh7,000.

KK, another victim, told the court that in January 2014 while looking after cows, he saw people in a compound of Twajenga Holdings and since he was thirsty, he asked for water. A white man, he said, gave him the water and he asked for food.

KK, who at the time was 15 years old, said it became a routine for him and his friends to go to the home for water and food.

“On the second day of my stay at the white man’s tent, he called me while he was in the bathroom. He asked me to take a shower with him,” he said.

KK said the white man told him to apply oil on his body and massage his genitals. He said Hermann took him to Mombasa several times where he was introduced to drugs.

Now an adult NK, told the court that he met Hermann when he was in Class Five. He said that sometime in 2007, Hermann made him and three others drink wine until they became drunk.

He said he doesn’t know what happened but found himself the following morning in his bedroom with a lot of pain around the anus.

“He took advantage of my situation. I had no one else to help me except him. He paid my school fees and is currently my employer,” NK said.