MOMBASA, Kenya, August 26- An assistant coach accused of assaulting a match official rendering him impotent has been acquired by a Mombasa Law Court in Kenya on Monday.
Daudi Kajembe, a former assistant coach with lower division side Sparki Youth, was set free in the Kenyan coastal city for lack of credible evidence.
He was accused of attacking and injuring the private parts of division one referee, Martin Wekesa Shikuku on Sept. 22, 2012, allegedly impairing his child-bearing abilities when the official was about to send off a player from his team.
In a one-hour ruling read by Mombasa Senior Resident Magistrate; Justice Irene Ruguru the court dismissed the charges after the prosecution’s key evidence was ruled inadmissible.
The magistrate listed four grounds in which she dismissed the case that could not sustain the charges of causing grievous bodily harm during the incident two minutes from time during the local derby between fierce rivals Sparki and Admiral at the Tudor Day Grounds.
Football Kenya Federation suspended Kajembe for life with former national team Harambee Stars head coach, Mohammed Kheri, who was acting as Technical Director for Sparki suspended for a year.
The curious case that hit international headlines saw Wekesa seek some 157,000 U.S. dollars in compensation from the country’s federation when he accused the coach of squeezing his testicles.
The team was docked six points and ordered to pay all the medical bills accruing to the injured referee until he fully recovers.
“He pulled my testicles. He actually pressed them and I was hanging on him when he was pulling me. I was crying and could not get myself out from his hands,” Wekesa told the media at the time.
“I remember Kajembe told me, raising his hand: ‘I can kill you in a minute’, and came directly to my testicles.”
Wekesa was rescued by a police officer; he further alleges that he was overcome by pain and duly transferred to a hospital.
Kajembe was arrested in January last year and charged with the offence after being released on a USD 2,265.01 (Ksh200,000).