Keeping up with the Kiunas and their jet-setting lifestyle

When a man of the cloth, a bishop no less, uploads a photograph on Instagram then deletes it after it sparks a social media storm, it is bound to stir reaction.

And when that Bishop is Allan Kiuna of the Jubilee Christian Church, who has had details about his life play out on the internet over the years, it invites the question of whether he is following a script used by politicians and other celebrities who usually drop hints to whet the public’s appetite, then leave everyone guessing.

Besides the controversial Instagram post on Monday of a private jet — said to be similar to one purportedly bought for him by his church members — it is through the internet that photos were published in early 2015 of a luxury home owned by Bishop Kiuna and his wife Kathy.

There was little information to confirm it was their house, until a March 2015 interview on Citizen TV when the couple said the photos circulating were indeed of their house.

“That is where we go home to … We give glory to God,” said Mrs Kiuna.

SUBJECT OF SWIRLING SPECULATION

Whether or not a private jet will soon be delivered remains the subject of swirling speculation and debate. If you took a “keeping up with the Kiunas” journey, and decided to take the trip online, you will bump into details such as the top-of-the-range vehicles they drive, the exotic places that Mr Kiuna has visited to play golf, and the glamour that surrounded their daughter’s wedding, among others.

And you will also probably notice how some details that the Kiunas have shared online in the past have drawn sharp reactions — an indication of how the flamboyant couple and their church divide opinion. Take the November 2014 tweet and picture of Mr Kiuna during a trip to South Africa to play golf: “Had a wonderful golfing day in Pretoria. As haters hate, I am enjoying the goodness of God. Love y’all n c u Sunday.”

Twitter users questioned the tone of his caption, especially coming from a church leader, prompting him to edit it to say: “Had a wonderful golfing day in Pretoria. Beautiful country and wonderful people. Enjoyed doing ministry @JccJoburg.”

OPULENCE THE OVERRIDING THEME

Tracking the Kiunas online, you quickly realise that the overriding theme of the photos they post is the opulence they live in.

Last Monday’s post by Mr Kiuna was sure to leave tongues wagging because no pastor in Kenya owns a jet. Without giving details about acquisition of the plane, he uploaded images of the exterior and the interior of a jet with a message: “Thank you very much wonderful people”.

Given that he had celebrated his 50th birthday the previous Friday, and that he had been consecrated as a bishop that Sunday, many believed this was a birthday gift bought for him by his congregation.

But three of his church members interviewed by Lifestyle denied ever being asked to raise funds to buy a jet.

“There was nothing like us gifting him with a jet. I was puzzled that somebody can actually fabricate such a story,” said Ms Nelly Gatonye, a motivational speaker who has been a JCC member since August 2010.

She added: “But, you know what? That’s a good prayer for him. They’re actually praying for him to get one.”

Timothy*, another Christian who has been a JCC member for 10 years, who asked not to be identified because of the role he plays in the country’s security apparatus, laughed off the allegations.

“We’ve never been told to raise funds by anybody for any plane. I saw that and it was said that the plane was bought for Sh2.1 billion. We’ve never been asked to contribute to that effect,” he said.

Annette*, another worshipper who said her secondary and university education had been funded by JCC, but who also requested not to be identified for personal reasons, also denied the claim.

“Personally I’ve never heard about it and I don’t think I’ll hear it any time soon,” she said.

DID NOT RESPOND TO CALLS

The Kiunas did not respond to our calls, text and email seeking a comment on the matter throughout the week. Mr John Ndeere, their personal assistant, said on Thursday that the couple was out of the country for an unknown period of time.

“Bishop is usually not elusive. Bishop is very accessible. Had he been in office, if you wanted to talk to him, bishop would have been available,” said Mr Ndeere.

When he spoke to eDaily, a Royal Media Services online outlet, Mr Kiuna said that he had indeed acquired the plane but added that most of the online reports about it were false.

“I would say there is no jet yet, but it will come soon. I have already acquired one,” he was quoted as saying. But why a jet for a man of God?

Retired Anglican Archbishop Eliud Wabukhala said there is no problem if it is for the purpose of preaching.

“Jesus did not have even a bicycle. So, it depends on the circumstances,” he told Lifestyle. “If your ministry warrants an aeroplane, fine. If it warrants a bicycle, fine.”

As early as 2014, the Kiunas were setting sights on owning a private jet, saying it was one of their goals in the ministry.

In an interview published on JCC’s YouTube channel in February 2014, the couple reflected on their long journey to success and said there was more on the way.

'THE JET HAS TO COME'

Mr Kiuna said: “We’re not there yet because the jet has to come.”

This drew laughter from his wife who was sitting next to him on a couch. “A JCC jet has to come. But we know that God is working deals and He is taking us from level to level.”

If they finally own a jet as they desire, the Kiunas will enter record books as stars in one of the most moving rags-to-riches stories in Kenya’s evangelism circles.

Theirs will be a story of a couple that started evangelism while living in someone’s house because they could not afford to pay rent, then rose to become wealthy.

In past interviews, they have said that Mr Kiuna, an alumnus of Parklands High School, grew up in a slum while his wife came from a relatively well-off family.

“My husband grew up in the slums. He grew up in this little room. And I visited him, by the way, before I got married,” said Mrs Kiuna in an interview with Citizen TV in August.

“We were actually hopping, stepping and jumping on faeces outside (his house). It was really bad. But I loved him and I didn’t care. And my dad brought us up in this way: that no matter where a person is in life, never laugh at them. Never look down on them.”

Mrs Kiuna says she was a notorious party girl in Nairobi while Mr Kiuna confesses he was a “sinner” between ages 14 and 19.

The two got saved early in their marriage and decided to abandon all they were doing, including a printing business, for the ministry. Mr Kiuna says he got the calling to start JCC in 1998.

“We started very small. People see this massive church of over 10,000 right now and they think that that’s just how it is. But we started from a mighty long way. When we started the church, we actually didn’t even have a home to live in. We were being hosted by a widowed woman and we were sleeping on the floor. That time we had two children, now we have three,” said Mrs Kiuna during the August interview.

WERE SLEEPING ON THE FLOOR

She added: “And we were sleeping on the floor, with nothing to our name. We didn’t even have a coin that has a hole in the middle. Poor people called us poor. It was bad.”

Their church has moved from a restaurant in Nairobi, then to Ngara before relocating to its current location at Parklands. Mr Kiuna believes their Parklands church is not their berth.

In the 2014 interview, he said: “Even here in Parklands, this is not the destination. This is just a station. We are on our way to our own 50,000-seater cathedral.”

One can tell that that is no mere ambition. The couple has managed to grow the church from an establishment running on borrowed seats to an institution with branches all over the world.

According to JCC’s website, the church currently has branches in Atlanta, Dallas, Johannesburg and London. All these are headed by Kenyan pastors appointed by the JCC heads. This is besides local branches in Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu, Kitengela, Garissa and Machakos.

But as the church sprouts and draws more Christians, it has been receiving its share of criticism for its methods, especially by the founders’ obsession with the gospel of prosperity.

Nairobi resident Suzanne Adhiambo, for instance, says she can never set foot in a JCC church after her experience at the Nakuru branch one Sunday in 2010.

“That was the first and the last time I set foot there,” she told Lifestyle. “The pastor went on and on about the benefits of giving, the message of “give, give and you’ll be blessed’”. His sermon was mixed with bragging about the cars he drives and such.”

Another woman who worshipped at JCC between 2005 and 2006 when it was based in Ngara, who requested not to be named for personal reasons, has a bone to pick with how the church profiles those who attend.

'WILL NOT INVEST SO MUCH TIME'

“They tell you to stand up when you’re a visitor. Then you’re taken somewhere to have tea. Then they ask you what you do for a living. You say what title or what profession you are in. And then they ask, ‘Which company do you work for?’ And then they draw quick marks to see whether it’s in their best interest for them to invest people and time to inspire you to be coming to church … if you’re not an expatriate or you’re not working for a big company, they won’t invest so much time,” she said.

Other people have previously taken to the social media to question a number of practices at the JCC headquarters, among them the passion with which their followers follow the Kiunas — who they call Dad and Mum — and the importance attached to tithe giving.

The church was also in the eye of a storm in early 2015 when an airline advertisement appeared during a live broadcast of a JCC service.

But JCC worshippers say much of the criticism against the church is unwarranted.

Ms Gatonye, who was in 2015 recognised among Business Daily’s Top 40 under 40 Women, said most information about the church is peddled by people who don’t understand what happens there.

“What I don’t understand is, most of the people who talk about those things, they’re not even members of JCC. And you wonder: why would somebody fabricate such a story and go and give such false information?” she posed.

Some of the well-known names in Kenya who fellowship at JCC include gospel singer Size 8 and her husband DJ Mo, Mercy Masika, Lady B, Janet Otieno and Willy Paul.

Why do their followers call the Kiunas “Mum and Dad”? Lifestyle asked Ms Gatonye.

“That’s just a way of showing that we are a family. You know, JCC is like a family. We care for one another, we take care of one another,” she replied.

'MISGUIDED RUMOURS'

Annette said the rumours that JCC Christians are milked dry to fund their pastors’ lifestyles are misguided.

“I’ve never felt it being too much for me, because my man of God (Mr Kiuna) always says this: ‘Don’t feel obligated to give. If you feel your giving will make you leave the church with a funny attitude, don’t give’,” she said.

She added: “I’ve just told you that he saw me through school. That is something my late father should have done. So, for me, he has mentored me spiritually, he has mentored me physically.”

The Kiunas were confronted with the question of only being interested in rich followers during the August TV interview. Mrs Kiuna disputed it.

“JCC, in fact, accommodates so many people that come from the slum. In fact, when they realise that my husband himself came from the slums, it’s such an inspiration. So, they actually find their way to JCC and God begins to lift them up. If you hear the stories of the JCC members and they tell you where they have come from and where they are now, you will not even believe it,” she said.

As for the criticism levelled against them on various platforms before, Mr Kiuna believes that being discussed is a sign of achievement.

“I rejoice to know that I have actually become a talking point. When people are talking about you, you shouldn’t be complaining. You should be so happy,” he said in the 2014 interview available on the JCC YouTube channel.

“A tiger is not bothered about the opinion of the sheep. You will never see a tiger or a lion thinking about what the sheep or the squirrel or an antelope said about them. They’re not bothered. So, you have to get to a place where you just keep doing what God has called you to do, and do it with all faithfulness, with all humility. But don’t ever be detoured by the words of the haters because people will always hate,” added Mr Kiuna.

During the same interview, Mrs Kiuna said she will ignore those who criticise their prosperity message.

“We’ve purposed that; that we’re not going to pay attention (to critics). You say what you want, we know what we’re doing, we know who we believe, we are servants of the most high God. We fear the Lord and so, if you’re gonna criticise — and, by the way, this prosperity message, I don’t know whether there is a poverty message. I’ve never heard it,” she said.