In recent years, Kenyans have witnessed many scandals involving pastors who prey on their gullible followers to enrich themselves. This is done through the misinterpretation of the Bible to manipulate their diehard followers who are desperate and helpless for better lives. Because of this, pastors pounce on the opportunity and eventually taking advantage of followers' vulnerability to extort money from them. These rogue pastors have made the church a money-minting space, using their schemes and clever tactics to lure the congregation to give their valuables to them.
The burning desire to acquire material possessions by the pastors has led to a lot of commercialisation of the Gospel, hence the same pastors are seen to be preaching water and instead drinking wine.
Many of them operate in towns where a large population reside and this makes it easier for them to have a bountiful harvest. Given the challenging life in these overpopulated areas, there is always a need for prayers hence giving the pastors an opportunity to attack.
Many pastors give false hopes to the hopeless who do not have jobs and with serious family and health issues but at a fee at the end. This is a clear indication that the pastor is always after material gain and not genuinely concerned about the welfare of the desperate victims. Surprisingly in their shameful acts, they never discriminate against anyone whether rich or poor, old or young as long as there something in return.
Such false prophets are the likes of pastor Makenzi, who lured his followers with his false beliefs. This controversial pastor propagated teachings which raised alarm and were considered outright violations of human rights.
Throughout his sermons Makenzi used clever wordplay to deliver his message which purely involved instilling fear to his congregants. His teachings revolved around neglecting all forms of education in schools, not seeking healthcare services from professionals, food and other basic human rights. Moreover, the pastor believes that menstrual cycle which is a normal biological function that happens to women, is the work of the devil and that females should pray hard "in order to skip the cycle".
It is because of these controversial teachings that the public started to being skeptical and eventually questioned the integrity of the pastor.
Makenzi was arrested twice in 2019 and in March 2023 in connection with the death of children. He was released on bond both times and the cases were still in court.
In 2017, the Kenya Film and Classification Board Chairman Ezekiel Mutua told local media that the content of Makenzi's church was taken off air and law enforcement agencies were notified. This is in connection to his misleading sermons and teachings.
The pastor was also found to be segregating his followers in a confined area in Kilifi county .Shakahola forest was where he practiced his cult-like religion. Starvation was the order of the day in Shakahola forest because the congregants were never allowed to have access to water or food and hence leading to emaciation and eventually death.
It was now clear that the pastor was up to something and never wanted the public to discover. After his arrest, it was discovered that more than 300 people had lost their lives. Mass graves were found after one survivor and a member of the church raised alarm to the authorities. Bodies of the dead people who were buried without dignity piled up after excavation was done by the police. On hearing this, President William Ruto likened Makenzi to a terrorist saying he belongs to jail. He added that the pastor was a terrible criminal who uses religion to advance his heinous acts.
One other controversial religious leader came from Tongaren in Bungoma county. The self-proclaimed ‘Jesus’ shocked the entire nation after he claimed to be the saviour of mankind. Eliud Wekesa also known as ‘Yesu wa Tongaren’ is the leader of Jerusalem church, was being accused of running a religious cult similar to that of pastor Makenzi of Shakahola in Kilifi county where deaths were witnessed after starvation "in order to meet Jesus Christ".
Wekesa has succeeded in deceiving people from his village that he is the real Jesus .He claims to perform miracles of turning water into tea which he later shared with his followers. He also claimed to heal and because of this his followers kneel to worship him. Followers refer to him as "Mwalimu Yesu" meaning Teacher Jesus.
He also propagated his false beliefs on his followers and no one would dare to disagree for the fear instilled in them.
Before Wekesa ,there was another man who claimed to be God. The man practiced blasphemy by taking the name Jehovah and adding to his name Wanyonyi. After some time, he died. This clearly shows that he was operating a cult because his death went contrary to the teachings of the Bible.
The government should ensure proper regulations of these churches to ensure pastors do not operate cults instead of religion. It should put in place a regulatory frameworks on how freedom of worship should be exercised. This is because it is no longer a secret that worship centres are exploiting people who are blinded by the belief in a supernatural being.
The Bible clearly warns people about false prophets in the New Testament and it is now evident that the writing is coming to pass. Without undermining the fact that most of the pastors are teaching the right Gospel to the followers, however a few of them tarnish the names of others and this should and must stop.
In order to avoid the ugly scenes that have been witnessed throughout the years, there is a need for the government to enforce stringent guidelines for worship centres in order to control exploitation. The citizens also need to assess the situation and try to distinguish between true and false teachings. This will help people pay more attention to the sermons that they consume for it helps identify false preachers.
STORY By EDWIN GATHII, Second Year Media student, Chuka University
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