A vicar who poured boiling water over a homeless man before stabbing him after he took shelter outside his church, has been jailed. Reverend Friday Archy, 51, screamed at his victim: ‘I told you to go, if you stay here you will die,’ before plunging the knife into his neck, armpit and chest. The holyman claimed the injuries to Ben Donetus were karma for being a sinning homeless person. The 25-year-old, who suffered severe burns and four stab wounds, spent two days in hospital with a collapsed lung. Rev Archy was jailed for seven years after being found guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent following a trial at Inner London Crown Court.
The green-robed Nigerian, of the Christ-Choosing Church of God in Peckham, southeast London, clashed with the victim after failing to move rough sleepers away. The victim said from his hospital bed on the day of the attack: ‘I have been sleeping rough for the last two years. ‘About two months ago a friend told me of the Penarth Centre and that it was a safe place to sleep. I have now been sleeping at the centre for the last two months. ‘I sleep there every night, on the landing outside the door leading to the Christ Choosing church of God. I believe this is on the first floor of the centre. There are two other rough sleepers who also sleep there every night.
‘I see the reverend at least three nights per week. He used to talk to me and tell me to go away and sleep elsewhere. ‘Recently he has stopped talking to us. Last night I arrived as usual at about 11pm.’ Mr Donetus discovered one of his friends had joined him on the landing because his usual spot was flooded.
I rolled out my bedding and went do sleep,’ said the homeless man. ‘The next thing I remember was waking up, feeling wet. I felt my back and it was wet. I could feel it was also hot. I turned over and saw the reverend standing over me with an electric kettle in his left hand. He was shouting: “Get out, get out”. I tried to get up, but the reverend pushed me to the ground. As I fell I saw he had a silver knife in his right hand. I turned away to protect myself, then felt myself being stabbed. I could see the reverend was standing over me, stabbing at me.
‘He was shouting: “I told you to go, if you stay here you will die”.
I was really frightened he was going to kill me. I yelled for help.
The reverend then stopped stabbing me. He just ran back in to the church, closing the door behind him.
The injured man was taken to nearby Kings College Hospital for treatment for stab wounds, a collapsed lung, a fractured rib, and two 40cm burns on his torso following the incident on May 2 last year.
Archy had two previous convictions for making threats to kill in 1991, the court heard.
