Prophet Bentry Canaan, who was arrested last week for allegedly sexually abusing a girl child, has been remanded to prison for ten days.
Canaan who leads the New Life Installation Christian Church in Kasungu appeared before Kasungu First Grade Magistrate court he was charged with defilement.
He pleaded not guilty to the charge and applied for bail. According to Canaan, he cannot jump bail because he is a Malawian citizen, a leader of a well-established ministry and he runs small scale businesses.
The suspect also told the court that he would not interfere with investigations into the case if he is granted bail and that he would comply with any conditions set by the court
However, the state said Canaan should be remanded to prison to allow the state to conclude investigations.
Magistrate Banda has since sent Canaan to prison for ten days and has said that the court will consider the suspect’s bail application after the period.
Canaan was arrested on Friday last week on allegations that he defiled a child aged 16 who was working as a maid at his house.
The prophet is alleged to have sexually abused the child from October last year up to March this year.
