Govt Should Not Cave In To Threat And Blackmail By Some Churches Opposed To Regulation
The Mt Kenya Times 
Church
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- The Biblical teachings are very clear. A true man of God is supposed pray for the long life of his followers and keep giving them hope.
- For the sick, give them hope of healing. For those facing other challenges, give them hope that all will able well in the name of Jesus. You will get a job; you will be promoted; you will get school fees for your children; your business will thrive and so on.
- Mackenzie was doing the opposite of this. He was starving his followers, mostly children and women, to death and killing with a brunt object those who refused to heed his call.
- Speaking at the scene Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, who immediately took over the role of coordinating the excercise of exhumation, stated?
The Shakahola cult massacre has ignited the debate on whether the government has a responsibility to regulate the churches and whether this is the right time to do so.
Pastor Paul Mackenzie of Good News International Church and Ezekial Odero of New Life Prayer Center have been at the center of the storm.
The duo had been identified as the pioneer and face of the cultic activities in Kenya.
Soon after the mainstream media revealed how they were luring gullible Kenyans to the death traps, President William Ruto came out gun blazing.
The teaching of these pastors bordered on religious radicalization and extremism.
This has led to the death of many Kenyans. More than 100 bodies have so far been exhumed.
They had been buried in shallow graves within the vast land measuring 800 acres which is owned by Pastor Mackenzie in Shakahola forest.
This is where his church was located. The local villagers later demolished this church. He had buried his two wives inside and the graves were left bare.
A pastor he had entrusted to run a church he had built in Marereni had also reportedly died.
For President Ruto, he roundly condemned this pastor and called him a terrorist. He has caused mass death.
I took the oath of office to protect the lives and properties of all Kenyans.
When it comes to these matters, there is no room for compromise. We cannot negotiate about this.
He directed the law enforcers to immediately swing into action and bring Mackenzie and his associates to book.
The place of this man is in jail.
The Biblical teachings are very clear. A true man of God is supposed pray for the long life of his followers and keep giving them hope.
For the sick, give them hope of healing. For those facing other challenges, give them hope that all will able well in the name of Jesus. You will get a job; you will be promoted; you will get school fees for your children; your business will thrive and so on.
Mackenzie was doing the opposite of this. He was starving his followers, mostly children and women, to death and killing with a brunt object those who refused to heed his call.
Speaking at the scene Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, who immediately took over the role of coordinating the excercise of exhumation, stated?
What you are seeing here could be a tip of iceberg.
The police are currently looking for another pastor who preliminary reports indicate he is also running a cult and he has done worst things than Mackenzie.
A few days later, Pastor Ezekial Odero was arrested. When he was arraigned in court, he faced almost similar charges to those filed against Mackenzie who had been arraigned earlier and denied bail.
He however faced a new count of selling body organs-a serious charge which falls in the category of capital offence.
The President had announced that he would expand the scope of tackling this problem that has been haunting our country for a long time.
I’m sure his memory had gone to back to late 90s. At the time, then President Daniel Arap Moi had set up a commission of inquiry into devil worshiping.
This followed the increasing disturbing cases of unrest in secondary schools and colleges.
Some of these institutions were razed down and tens of hundreds of students perished.
I remember the Kyanguli fire tragedy. The inferno almost wiped out all the students sleeping in one of the dormitory.
There were many unexplained deaths within the society. Some of victims’ body organs were removed.
Reports indicated the business of selling them had thrived and they were mostly bought for witchcraft purposes.
The road accidents had also increased and in most cases no blood is seen at the scene.
It is worth to note the recommendations of the commission led by then Nyeri Catholic bishop Nicodemus Kirima were never implemented.
Right now, we are seeing a proliferation of the cults and fake prophets.
Many believe this could not have been the case if Kirima report was implemented.
President Ruto has demonstrated he is ready to deal with this matter to the bitter end.
A few days ago, he moved a step further when he formed a commission of inquiry and a task force.
As it turned out, this would not go down well with a good number of churches.
Initially, I thought it is only those promoting the doctrine of doomsday cults who would oppose the President’s move.
I was however taken by surprise when I saw the leadership of Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) echoing the same sentiments.
According to the ACK, the government’s move to regulate the churches is ill-advised and will not succeed.
The state is a political unit and so you cannot legislate on spiritual matters.
Leave this matter to us. We have our own internal mechanisms of Self-Regulation. Why have they failed to tame cults?
Is what we are seeing in Shakahola reflect the will of God? No. I say this as a born again Christian.
For how long will government watch as innocent people lose their lives? I fully support the President. The time to act is now.
In Rwanda, President Paul Kagame had developed a similar script. His government deregistered 6,000 churches. A number of cultists were also rounded up; arraigned in court and jailed.
The story was the same in Uganda. President Yoweri Museveni cracked down rogue pastors and closed their churches.
Most of the churches had earned the names of briefcase outfits. This because they had been founded by an individual and if he is man, he would run it with the wife or a mistress and child.
If it is a woman, she would run it with a husband or a boyfriend and children.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi
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