More Questions than answers for Kizito Accusers.

As i write this, am getting more information that the accusers of father Kizito (alleged victims of sodomy) have withdrawn and retracted their statements. You can follow that story on http://allafrica.com/stories/200907080969.html We will also review these developments later right here on Uchanganuzi kwa kindani.

What has prompted me to write this quick one is an email i received from one of the readers requesting me to pursue answers to the SEVERAL questions.

“Having read from forwarded messages from people, I feel I should send this to you just personally.
(1) If the father Kizito accusers knew about this issue for all that time (20 years) they claimed in one of the countries media (KTN), why did they have to seat on the information for all those years? and why release it now in the press?.

(2) The Zambia issue that (they raised on Television – KTN) that father Kizito was chased (for reasons only known to them) …they should prove it

(3) Who advised the boys (who are under age) to go to a lawyer?
(4) And who introduced the boys to the lawyer (Kibunja)?

(5) Who is paying the lawyer, as far as am concerned he is a private lawyer (he doesn’t belong to any NGO) so he his in business.

(6) Why were properties being transferred to the accusers (sacked trustees) names yet they own nothing in koinonia?”
Very insightful questions indeed, and some of them we have been trying to pursue them on the previous analysis. In the following analysis we will also seek to address some of those questions raised by the followers of this forum.

Trustees or turn-coats?: How some koinonia “trustees” plotted to jettison a kingdom they never built!

In this part of dissecting “na kuchanganua kwa undani” the “trustees” who have been behind the story that KTN bought and termed “the father kizito scandal”, we must first ask ourselves some questions. One: Did KTN receive any money to run this story? If they did, just how much money did they receive considering that this news item was main news item in their prime news for close to a whole week?

Wacha tuchanganue. If we do a quick cost-benefit analysis of this story, the costs of running these footages and the foreseen benefits, then there is all the reason to get really afraid. The strength that was used to air these news and dedication in connecting it with “crisis in catholic church” makes us muse. In terms of cost, a minute of prime time television will cost an excess of 800 euro, or roughly 1000 dollars on the lower side. If you do your arithmetic properly, then you know why you should be scared. To analyze on actual impact of this story, I decided to take a trip. My search for truth took me to Dagoretti, the locality of Kivuli Center where the alleged Sodomy took place, but I had to leave with so many unanswered queries. But what I won’t forget is the fact that many of the people in Riruta, Dagoretti I spoke to are much in touch with this story and they are not happy. I had to assure them I am not from KTN, to avoid a possible lynching.

Moving on, let us ask ourselves the second question. The trustees appeared later in the story after Father Kizito had issued his statement, didn’t they? When they appeared, they alluded that they met on 24th May and removed Fr. Kizito from trusteeship for allegedly sexually exploiting the children which no one knows. This is interesting because koinonia members told me that Koinonia only approves trustees in the structures of the community and not in the structures mentioned by the former trustees. Also notice the discrepancy of the time period from October when they discovered the story and when they allege to have met to remove Kizito from Trusteeship. Again a very interesting development, because Father Kizito isn’t just a trustee, he is the founder and director! I will come back to this again later.

Now let’s delve to today’s business: dissecting these “trustees”. This is along one, so take a a good sitting position, and take a good look at these facts. The trustees who have been accusing father Kizito are now known in public, (they were given the platform by KTN). In October 2008, my reliable sources inform me that one of these “trustees” who was also a manager had tabled his resignation from the community but somehow he was requested to hold on until when a suitable replacement is found. The replacement problem had not been solved by January 2009 when Father Kizito was leaving for his sabbatical to Musoma in order to perfect his Swahili. Interestingly, it was in that October when pornographic images of Father Kizito started circulating in the internet. In March 2009, Father Kizito came to Kenya and found that there were immense rumors on this story but he would not understand what was happening. There were many versions of the rumor including one that some old staff were engineering this story. Members of Koinonia were put in a state of confusion and they discussed this in their meeting. The trustees (the present accusers) asked the members to leave the matter to them because they will solve it (through extortion probably, or how else would they?).

Later, Father Kizito, after his Swahili lessons traveled to Italy for a rest and again the situation continued deteriorating. Awful stories continued circulating. Father Kizito first decided to increase the number of trustees from four to nine and here is where some problems began to emerge and I am informed there were nasty email exchanges between Father Kizito and one of the trustees who is accusing him. Some of the suggested trustees started receiving threats and this forced the community to think of persons independent but who share the values of the community. This was opposed strongly by the former trustees. Still with Father Kizito absent, these trustees decided to convene a meeting in Shalom house where they accused the executive committee of misleading Fr. Kizito that the Koinonia property was on sale. During this meeting they decided to close down the children centers and hand the children back to their parents. I am informed, later Fr. Kizito wrote from Italy requesting that the centers should not be closed because Koinonia has money to continue supporting the children. My very reliable sources in Koinonia inform me that the letter of Fr. Kizito fell on deaf ears and they continued with their plans. A protest email was then sent by one member of the community who was a former street child. He said “Koinonia community cannot allow that the children be given back to their parents. These parents have no ability to take care of them. This act will result to throwing the children back to the streets.” This letter sparked strong reactions from the other community members who all acted in one voice to defend the children. Despite the voices of the community members the centers were left to deteriorate. One of my informers close to koinonia community tells me that “one child came to me asking for fare back home…this child had stayed and saw no hope at all to continue living in the center…I looked at the child and shed tears…I could not imagine such pain and anguish from a little one.”

Just as the situation was getting out of hand, Father Kizito came back and there was a meeting in Shalom house and everything in Koinonia was back in shape in a span of one day, amazing! Or isn’t it? Interestingly, that evening while at Shalom house KTN crew raided him and bombarded him with many questions. Taking him pictures. (Read father Kizito’s statement in the earlier post). He just asked them to leave him so as he would rest after a long fight.  From then on the media house started airing this story without seeking further evidence or responses from Father Kizito (Note in the earlier analysis how KTN systematically ignored Father Kizito’s arguments in the story.) Inside sources inform me that by the time father Kizito arrived in the country, a lot of the koinonia properties had been jettisoned off by the said trustees, hence their efforts to have the children sent away. In his defense father kizito says that the accusers wanted 40 million kenya shillings to drop the case (fabricated case). After giving his statement, the “accusing two trustees” decided then to remove father kizito from being a trustee. Note that they had been removed as trustees earlier on. Funny? To back peddle, let me ask, if the real problem was father Kizito, why were they transferring koinonia properties to their names?

To put it in light, may it be known by all and sundry that the said trustees were people father Kizito had worked with for a long time, and helped them to rise from nothing to riches, glory be to God. To counter the glory of God, they embezzled millions of shillings meant to help the children, facts that auditors can go and confirm at Shalom House. Consequently, their dismissal was in the oven cooking, and that’s when the father Kizito’s sodomy fabrication began. Insiders inform me that there were several robberies earlier in koinonia, all which pointed to inside jobs, but which for now we won’t link with this story.

Kwa kindani, lets ask ourselves this question, if these people wanted to make 40 million bucks, then how much were they willing to spend in this Endeavour? How come that KTN set to interview father Kizito on the same day he arrived, and without an appointment? If the KTN crew arrived later in the evening to interview father kizito, and aired that story few hours later, then don’t you think the interview with the said victims was recorded earlier, probably days or months earlier? Then probably edited, re-edited and re-edited to look fresh? If the accusations against father kizito were true, then why did they wait this long to bring up the story? If the accusers were convinced that their evidence was authentic, why did they choose to go on Television rather than hand over the evidence to the police? With these questions in mind, let’s continue praying for truth to suffice and justice to be done.

In the next uchanganuzi (with the help of the very many sincere and candid informers) , we will reveal how and when KTN received the story, how a senior KTN news anchor masqueraded in one of the koinonia centers to mastermind the fabrication of this story and other distortion of facts that will make your hair stand. We will also analyze some of the photos flying around which KTN based its story on, and which everyone has already dismissed as poorly done proletarian Photoshop. Truly truth has no end.

When money changes hands, even journalism becomes as wicked as prostitution –the malady of “authoritativeness”

“A moribund society creates its own morbid grave diggers” – Karl Max.

In this third part of dissecting the allegations against father Kizito, we expose the hands of people whom money has changed hands in the effort to fabricate this priest. By stroke of luck, NTV and the Daily Nation has done half of the job for us, the rest we will do, we might not have the money like they have, nor the airwaves, but thank God we have wordpress.

But before we delve, it is important to question why “the authoritative” channel called KTN has adamantly refused to show the other side of the story. Isn’t it queer that KTN has ran the story a record 4 times in a row as a top story, systematically avoiding the parts that father Kizito is complaining of blackmail??

Now for the benefit of those who might not have a clue, the editorial policy for top stories all over the world is always “it leads where it bleeds”. (Doesn’t matter whether you did your journalism classes in the backyard of Uthiru or in Stamford). I will expound. Where two stories of competing magnitude land in the newsroom, priority is based on loss of life or death, then injury, skirmish, politics…in that order. It is not common practice for any well meaning media house to give priority to a story on a fight that no one dies, when there is a story where several people perish. But this is what KTN has been doing since Monday. If your memory is failing you, on Wednesday 17, 2009 an oil tanker overturned, exploded in flames and killed one person instantly. Scores were injured, and as I write this another 7 people have already succumbed. On NTV this was the top story, so it was on Citizen and K24. But what does KTN our “authoritative channel” show? Father Kizito sodomy scandal!! Now you stare at this page and want us to say who has been paid?? We wont say.

We don’t stop there, the next following stories are dedicated to dressing down Catholics and the Catholic Church, clearly if this is what is called authoritativeness then I am going down to hell. This is skewed reporting that lacks the slightest cackle of acumen.

Now while it is normal for people to react angrily on false accusations, here we strive to be sober and dissect this issue intelligently. In so doing we still maintain that, we are not the jury, but all allegations must be probed. Not probed like KTN has pretended to do, nope, not that way. In fact it is because of what KTN failed to do, we are forced to go aback and give you the hard facts.

We begin with the allegers.

The more I think about this, the more I see the malady I this entire KTN termed “father KIZITO SCANDAL”. Think about this, these “boys” are over 25 years, or what did they say?? It then follows they are adults. Adults who get paid to have sex are prostitutes, or aren’t they? Then I need not continue even to probe them, this is a prostitute-screwer-business! Am sorry for the language, but that’s FACT!

So where are the abused children? No where to be seen. KTN did not see any hole in this “expose”. So you want us to shout hoarse someone has been paid when a media house runs a child abuse story for 4 days as the lead story consequently with no single, NO SINGLE, child interviewed, no single, NO SINGLE, social worker interviewed??

So who else did KTN interview? The lawyer! I feel like laughing, but this is no laughing matter. And what evidence does the lawyer have? That he had sent solicited copies of mails of complaints to the police, who coincidentally both claimed they did not receive it!

For your information, It takes only 2-5 minutes to type a standard letter, backdate it and sign it! I would have delved deeper but, for legal reasons let’s leave something for the attorneys to tackle.

The other so called “trustees” who have been reportedly siphoning donor funds at koinonia community, will be our subject of expose in the next part. And as usual “tutachanganua kindani” because our business is to fearlessly dissect half-baked lies, cover-ups, and corruption. If you hate this opinion, the better for us. Good luck.

PRESS STATEMENT

This is the press statement fr.kizito released on Tuesday 16th June in case you missed it. Verbatim.

I have been absent from Kenya since the beginning of January. I returned yesterday morning because I was informed about what was happening and I wanted to face the situation.

Let me state very clearly. I have not sodomized any child. I am ready to face anybody who can prove the opposite.

Yesterday as soon as I was back in the country I went to Kilimani CID office to record a statement, and to deposit an affidavit in which a young man has sworn that he was offered a very substancial amount of money to bring false accusations of sexual nature against me, and when he refused to take part in the scheme, he received threats.

I am aware that some criminals do use such allegations of sexual offences to instill fear in lay and religious people working with young people, usually with the intention of extorting money. I am not ready to fall into this trap.

This particular story started last October. An anonymous email was sent out, purpotedly depiting me naked with a young adult – it is impossible to say if it was a man or a woman. Those pictures were clearly doctored using photo editing software, and so I did not accord them much importance.

Unfortunately the situation deteriorated when I left the country for some rest. Little by little, I discovered that the real issue was not a simple case of attempted defamation, but it was a much bigger plan to take over the properties that Koinonia has built over the years with the help of an Italian NGO called Amani. I had never considered the monetary value of the facilities and resources we have built for the direct and indirect benefit of the destitute children under our care, but now the properties are estimated at a commercial value of about three million euros, which is more than three billion Kenya shillings.

I believe that these properties are the real target of the people behind these accusations. These were people who enjoyed my confidence, and had access to all the documents of Koinonia, and were therefore aware of its commerical value. They came very close to transferring all the properties to their names, in fact the title deeds of our properties have been removed from my office, but we reacted in a legal manner and they are no longer among the Trustees of Kononia. In fact, we have secured the properties safely in the hands of the Koinonia Community Trust.

We have more people who are ready to testify that they were bribed, threatened or tortured in order to testify falsely against me.At the moment they are scared, but in due course they will file their personal affidavits. One of them was ready to be here today, but I do not act like the other party and I do not want him or them to be traumatised for the rest of their lives. They will be undergo proper interrogation by the police, and in case of anything they will appear in court.

I wonder whether those who are making allegations of sexual assault and indecent conduct have ever lodged a complaint with the police, accomapined with the relevant evidence.

I am suprised by the unprofessional way in which KTN journalists acted when they approached me yesterday. They only identified themselves verbally – without a press card – and their cameras and the car they were using were not marked. It was at six o’clock in the evening, and I had not rested after a long flight the previous night. When I told them I was tired and needed some rest, they switched on their cameras and started recording. I did not see the news report that was aired on KTN last night, but according to expert friends who watched it, it does not comply with minimal professional and ethical standards.

I have been in this country for more than 21 years, I have started media institutions like New People and Radio Waumini, and I have taken care of thousands of Kenyan children, yet I was not given a fair chance to clear myself from these terrible accusations. Moreover, Kenya has a police force. The policemen in Riruta would have been able to provide interesting records about the two characters who appeared in yesterday’s news report. There is also a Children’s Officer who regularly visits Koinonia’s Kivuli Centre, and probably knows more about what is going on than I do. Why wasn’t she interviewed?

Today we celebrate the Day of the African Child. Koinonia and its various institutions currently have about 250 former street children under their care, day and night, and there are hundreds more we assist while they remain living with their families. I do not ask for priviledged treatement, but I believe I could have justice through the normal channels. I am afraid this sinister plot to take over the properties of Koinonia could hurt the children, and I appeal to the Kenya authorities and Kenyan citizens to continue to support the good work done by our social workers in all our childrens’ home.

If the accusations against me are true I am willing to face the full face of the law, and if the accusations are found to be false, those who have originated and stage-managed them should equally be prepared to face the law. Towards this end, I have recorded a statement with the Kilimani Police.

Signed: _______________

Fr. Renato Kizito Sesana
Nairobi,16 June 2009

The Absurdity of anonymity: why father kizito’s accusers cannot remain anonymous

In this second part of dissecting the allegations against father Kizito, i will briefly examine the issue of anonymity that the reporters used to build up the story and explain in my own opinion why the media is a slaughterhouse for innocent people through the guise of anonymity.

When KTN decided to break the story on the allegations against father Kizito, they based their story on “testimonies” of people claiming to be former children in one of the homes run by father Kizito. The testimonies were accompanied by photographs that the reporters claimed that they are too “exposed” to be aired on Television. In so doing, the media used both uncorroborated evidences to hang the priest in the public court. What am i saying?
If an allegation is postulated, it then follows that it must be substantiated by evidence other than the allegation itself. The basis of the allegation here being sodomy to former street urchins. So for the allegation to stand any test, the urchin himself must be identified! Why? This is because anyone can claim to be an urchin, period.
As one English judge pointed out “It is often useful, in assessing the value of an opinion or argument, to know its source. For so long as there is anonymity, it would obviously be difficult to make any such assessment”. More generally when making a judgment as to the value of comments made by people purporting to be insiders, it may sometimes help to know how experienced or senior the commentator is”.
But what does KTN do in this case? Get hired goons who have never tasted life in a children’s home, get them coached on what to say, mask them and air them on national television. Talk of libel, this is a great one, but i leave that to the attorneys.

The second evidence is not only vague, but completely crass. Let me explain. This is my opinion, and am not an attorney, but i will give it a dissect “kwa undani”. Pictures and video footages are the easiest to manipulate in this era of technological revolution, actually effortlessly. In recent years people have been setup on fake video clips and photoshoped graphics. My friend Jeremy, the graphics manager at irewall tells me he can make a photo be what he wants, he can actually animate them effortlessly. So how is a video clip admissible as evidence in court? Am not sure to what extent a digital image in Kenya is acceptable as evidence in court, however all video must meet the authenticity test. Genuineness, realness, truthfulness, validity, reliability, undisputed credibility, and legitimacy are just some of the words that are used when we talk about authenticity. Auntheticity is pragmatic, but in this case, we mean original. Copies are not authentic. This KTN has did not bother to prove. Again i leave that to the attorneys.

In a nut shell, the allegations against father Kizito, are vague, they are malicious and extremely callous. Whether father Kizito is innocent or guilty is not for me to decide, am not the jury. But clearly, the indicaions are that he has been set-up. The Swahili people have a saying: njia ya mwongo ni fupi (a liar’s path is short), lets wait see how far the accusers can go.

In the next part of unravelling the incredibility of the media in the father Kizito sodomy accusations, i will dissect “kwa undani” the personalities behind the ploy to paint father Kizito a paedophile, who are they, whom they paid, how much and what exactly they want. All i can say is, i cant wait to write this down. Ukweli usimame, uwongo ujitenge.

Can the Media get cheaper than this?

People say, Kenyan media needs regulation, i say it needs control. Case in point: KTN’s outrageous broadcast of allegations against Father Kizito Sesana.

On the night of June 15, KTN lead news item was an allegation against the priest, where the news reporter suggested to have done “investigations” and was “now revealing” that the priest was a pedophile, who “has been abusing children under his care for the last 20 years”. Before i get into this story “kwa kindani” let me pose a question. Who ensures that “investigations” by the media are actually “investigations ” and not fabrications? Your guess is as good as mine, themselves. Lets leave that for a moment.

In this story, the reporter, claims to be interviewing former destitute children abused by the priest. Truth is, they are not. They have their faces concealed from the Camera to avoid recognition. This is deliberate camouflage under the guise of protecting “sources of information”. The media is using this guise to fabricate stories. Now, the purposed victims are trying to give an account of what they claim happened 20 years ago. Question: why did it take so long for them to come up with the story? The other “victim” says they went to the priest’s house, and then entered the “office”. In the same sentence…this is laughable. Ive worked for the community, the priest does not use his house as an office. In short, it is so easy to see the gaping holes of fabrication in that story. The “victims” are to put it simply paid to speak of someone, and of something they do not know. And that is why the media in Kenya needs to be controlled. While it is understandable, that the media needs to have the priviledge to protect its sources of information for political reasons, when it comes to protection of integrity of people from accusations based on mere romours and allegations, then this  is very palpable.

In the sensationalized story, about father Kizito,  evidence is not only vague, but also unsubstantiated. The allegations are baseless, illogical and malicious. The entire story is a fabrication, its libelous and extremely callous. No one who has worked with the priest’s community would take this kindly. To say the allegations are malicious -read sabotage is an understatement. The allegations are totally untrue. People who want to take advantage of helpless children do not set up over ten children’s homes, seek donor support to see them through school, support them to get jobs or start businesses for them, cross dangerous borders like southern sudan, dig up boreholes on dry lands, setup community clinics in slums….NO. The media needs to get its act right, or someone somewhere will right its act. Shame on KTN.

For a priest who has worked so tirelessly towards helping homeless children, the accusations do not come to hurt him, but to hurt the cause itsself. And this is why its too dangerous for the media to stoop so low. For a media house of the stature of KTN to clumsily get over a false story by interviewing masked witnesses is itself suicidal. It represents a degeneration of the corruption and irresponsibility in the industry and the waffling integrity of the journalists. At this point, it is important to ask ourselves whether its better to be bombarded by sensationalist false “revelations”, or no revelations at all. Id better the latter, because the cost of mending integrity is higher.