Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Reynolds libel case woman: They got me wrong

THE woman at the centre of the Fr Kevin Reynolds libel case has broken her silence, to say her comments about who fathered her child were misinterpreted.

Veneranda Mudi, who lives in a shanty town on the outskirts of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, confirmed that the father of her eldest daughter, Sheila, is Kenyan.

"Sheila has got her own father. He is a Luhya (member of a Kenyan tribe)," she told the Irish Independent.

RTE has vigorously denied that the interviews were misinterpreted in any way.

Veneranda's son Nelson backed her comments, saying her words on 'Mission To Prey' had been "miscommunicated".

The family's claims about the 'Prime Time Investigates' programme come after RTE was forced to settle a libel action for falsely accusing Fr Kevin Reynolds of raping Veneranda and fathering her child. 

The station accepted that the accusations were false, apologised, and paid a sum believed to be in the region of €1m.

Veneranda, who earns around €1.80 a day selling vegetables, was asked how she would answer claims that she lied. She replied: "People misinterpreted what I said."

Her son said that rumours began when his sister was born with a lighter skin tone. 

"She did not understand about the Irish priest."

An RTE spokesman said an interview was carried out prior to filming. 

"RTE is fully confident that Veneranda understood what she was being asked and was not in any way taken advantage of," he said.

A Kenyan journalist was present to translate, and the interview was checked by translators here. 

RTE said Veneranda confirmed the details in a second interview, and provided a written statement of her claims -- but a DNA test proved them to be false.