A 90-year-old man was yesterday charged in a Murang'a court with defiling an eight-year-old girl.

Clement Maithori denied the charges of defiling the minor on diverse dates at Mukuyu near Murang'a town. Maithori faces a second count of indecently touching the girl against her will, a charge he also denied.

The old man, who has a hearing impairment, had a difficult time understanding his crimes. This forced the court clerk to shout as he read the charges to Maithori, who had to be supported as he stood in the dock.

His lawyer Waiganjo Gichuki pleaded with the court to release him on a reasonable bond terms. "My client is under asthma medication. I plead with the court to release him on reasonable bond terms," Gichuki told acting Murang'a principal magistrate Brenda Kituyio.

He also asked to be supplied with copies of the witness statements. Maithori was released on a Sh80,000 bond and surety of the same amount or a Sh40,000 cash bail.

The case will be heard on January 31. In the same court, a former Family Bank cashier, Bernard Njau was charged with stealing money from the financial institution in October.

Njau pleaded not guilty to two charges of stealing Sh24,000 and Sh200,000 from the bank's Murang'a town branch.He was released on a Sh100, 000 bond with a surety of a similar amount or Sh70, 000 cash bail.