Judge Joseph M Walker III of Middlesex County Superior Court dismissed claims filed by Rev Dr Anthony Karimi Mumbui to counter a suit by the Trustees of the Presbytery of Northern New England (PNNE), seeking to enforce an earlier decision by a special tribunal.
Dr Mumbui had sought to be allowed to resume his duties as the pastor of the Kenyan Community Presbyterian Church in Lowell, Massachusetts.
The court sitting in Boston ruled that evidence adduced indicated that the Presbytery of Northern New England acted within its mandate when it defrocked the pastor in 2010.
Dr Mumbui had moved to court to challenge a decision to strip him of his position as a cleric. He was removed from the pulpit by the PNNE trustees in November 2010 following an ecclesiastical trial which found him guilty of three counts of sexual abuse and sexual malfeasance.
The court heard that in September 2009, the Presbytery received complaints that the pastor had sexually abused a young female parishioner.
After investigations, formal charges were filed with the Permanent Judicial Commission (PJC) which held a trial and found the pastor guilty as charged. Stephen Quinlan, a renowned Massachusetts lawyer, was the lead prosecutor during the sexual abuse proceedings.
The ruling elicited mixed reactions from members of the Kenyan Community Presbyterian Church who have been following the developments keenly.
A Lowell-based Kenyan who spoke to the Nation on condition of anonymity said the allegations facing the pastor had divided the church into two camps. “It’s the biggest Kenyan Community Church in the region but its survival is threatened by the latest developments,” he said in a phone interview.
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