‘Jesus of Tongaren’ or ‘Yesu wa Tongaren,’ the spiritual head of the New Jerusalem group in Bungoma, has begged the police not to detain him after being called in for questioning by Bungoma Police Commander Mr. Francis Kooli.
“Mimi tu nahubiri injili, sina neno liningine, ni neno tu la mungu…na iwapo nitakamatwa itakuwa wamenionea, maana sheria hukamata waliokosea. Na kama huna kosa nduyu yangu utakamatwa namna gani,” he noted.
He claimed on Monday that his only activity is preaching the genuine gospel.
The police commander claimed that his summons was only issued in the public interest and in accordance with enforcing the law in the county in light of recent occurrences.
According to him, the purpose of the invitation was to determine whether the teaching methods of his brother and others were legal while also attempting to safeguard the general populace from harm.
“The reasons for our invite are public interest…to establish whether our brother and others’ ways of teachings are within the limits of the law with an aim of protecting the public from harm,” he said.
Efforts to regulate Kenya’s dizzying array of churches and ministries have failed in the past, despite high-profile incidents of cults and rogue pastors being involved in crime.
Ruto Gov’t Cracks Whip on Churches Over Shakahola Massacre
Recently, President William Ruto read the riot act on religious leaders who propagated false teachings following the Shakahola massacre which saw over 100 bodies exhumed.
Speaking during a church service at Makutano Stadium in Kapenguria, West Pokot County, Ruto affirmed that a framework was being developed in conjunction with spiritual leaders to tame unscrupulous pastors.
“I will consult all religious leaders in the country to have a task force to weed out the characters who want to abuse religion or to run businesses anddo things that are anti-religion in Kenya.
“We want to provide a framework agreed upon with our religious leaders. A framework that will provide for self-regulation so that churches and spiritual leaders can have a mechanism where they can point to government those who want to abuse religion for other purposes,” the Head of State announced.
In addition, he pointed out that he will form a Judicial Commission of Inquiry in a week’s time to investigate the Shakahola massacre.
“We are Christians who believe in God. There are those who use religion to destroy other people and also other destructive means.
“To ensure that what happened in Shakahola will never happen again, we are forming a Judicial Commission of Inquiry so that we can get to the bottom of what really happened in Shakahola with (pastor Paul) Mackenzie and all his collaborators,” he stated.
The president also affirmed that the new move would coincide with the transfer of all commissioners based in Kilifi County.
“Recently, we transferred all commissioners who slacked on their jobs including the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
“So this week, I will appoint the commission so that what happened at Shakahola doesn’t happen again,” he assured.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki on Friday, April 28, reshuffled police bosses in Kilifi County to pave the way for investigations into the deadly cult.
“We will replace them with their colleagues from elsewhere so that we can show the public that what we are doing is for the good of the country and for the good of justice,” Kindiki announced.
The death toll from the massacre stands at 110 as of Sunday, April 30, while 32 people were rescued from the forest.
