Why churches have become a battlefield
What you need to know:
But others point to the reality of the rise of mega churches which have been sprouting across the country in the last few years.
At the expense of the faithful, some church leaders have amassed power and wealth which has gone into their heads and the effects are starting to show, according to Paul Muia, a psychologist at Oasis Africa.
“Because of desperation and the desire to hang on to some hope, preachers are selling this hope and they have become very powerful over time and with power comes impunity,” he says, adding that some of the faithful have been brainwashed.
Concern is growing among Kenyans over the spate of violent clashes and shocking incidents rocking the religious sector.
While the importance of religion cannot be ignored, the behaviour of a section of the clergy and faithful is raising questions on what could be going wrong in an institution that should ideally be beyond reproach.
There was shock this past week when four people died following clashes at the African Israel Nineveh Church in Vihiga County. Last Sunday, armed goons ambushed worshippers and supporters of the archbishop-elect Evans Jadiva at the church headquarters at Jebrok, killing two people. In retaliation the worshippers killed one of the attackers.
The next day Mr Isaac Onyango, a radiographer at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu and a bishop of one of the church branches in Busia, were found dead in the compound. Incidents of such wrangles over the control in churches appear to be on the increase, with some turning violent or remaining stuck in court
As this was happening, the Director of Public Prosecution Keriako Tobiko was preparing a file on an alleged cover-up by police officers on a fatal accident that some investigation has linked to Pastor James Ng’ang’a of Nairobi’s Neno Evangelism Centre. The matter is yet to be concluded.
But Pastor Ng’ang’a has denied all the allegations. And in a recent Friday night service attended by the Sunday Nation, he cursed his critics. He later appeared on Citizen TV to deny involvement in the accident.
At around the same time, the Daily Nation revealed that a second pastor, Thomas Wahome of the Helicopter Ministries, had in June knocked dead a pedestrian but reached an agreement with the victim’s family to resolve the issue without going to court.
Religious leaders and scholars are divided on what could be driving this disturbing trend with some blaming it on greed among the clergy and faithful while others say the affected churches are merely transitioning to another level of development hence the teething problems.
REALITY OF RISE OF MEGA CHURCHES
But others point to the reality of the rise of mega churches which have been sprouting across the country in the last few years.
At the expense of the faithful, some church leaders have amassed power and wealth which has gone into their heads and the effects are starting to show, according to Paul Muia, a psychologist at Oasis Africa.
“Because of desperation and the desire to hang on to some hope, preachers are selling this hope and they have become very powerful over time and with power comes impunity,” he says, adding that some of the faithful have been brainwashed.
At Chemororoch Village in Uasin Gishu County, the faithful of the Lost Israelites sect have refused to accept reports by the authorities that their “god” and leader Jehovah Wanyonyi has died — weeks after he disappeared from his home.
According to the psychologist, the association of wealth with the church could be fuelling the incessant wrangles.
In Vihiga, investigations revealed that a dispute over the ownership of 3.2 hectares of land owned by the Archbishop of the African Israel Nineveh could be behind the clash that led to four deaths by Monday.
Dr Joyce Nyairo, a historian and cultural analyst, says tough economic times could be to blame.
“The history of problems facing the religious sector always coincide with economic meltdowns as religion reduces the burden of life by providing a bedrock of faith and answers to humanity’s deepest needs,” she says.
Dr Nyairo adds: “In Kenya, many churches sprung up during the late 1980s when the economy was bad, the same is repeating itself, with this comes a myriad of problems. This is also happening to Islam in the form of extremism.”
The Church, however, insists the incidents are isolated and exaggerated by the media.
“If an occurrence is given wide media coverage, the society tends to generalise, that’s why we are suddenly seeing all these stories in the press,” says the National Council of Churches of Kenya secretary general Peter Karanja.
He argues that most of the churches facing problems are having their first generation of leaders and the mainstream churches also had problems in the past.
“These other churches have long traditions and have grappled with similar challenges in the past. They have, over time, attained maturity and set down regulations and a culture of doing things so whenever there is a problem it is solved easily,” he says, adding that the new churches will “outgrow their founders” and stabilise.
