City Girl: It is time to rein in these religious quacks
Last Saturday, villagers in Cheparten in South Pokot gathered to mourn the death of Mama Rosa, the only woman in Kenya who is purported to have “died twice”.
Mama Rosa was an ardent follower of the Ministry of Holiness and Repentance, a church owned and operated by ‘Prophet’ Dr Bishop David Owour.
The bizarre story goes that Mama Rosa fell sick in June 2017 and was diagnosed with pneumonia and rheumatoid arthritis. She apparently died but when her husband called Prophet Owuor, lo and behold, Mama Rosa conquered death, in typical Lazarus fashion.
Now a couple of weeks back, Mama Rosa died — this time for real — and during her burial last Saturday, her eulogy read like something out of biblical times. “The late Mama Rosa was initially diagnosed with arthritis and died in June 2017 before she was resurrected by the mightiest prophet who uttered three words, ‘It is well’.”
BEARDED NUTCASE
It is time to stop this bearded nutcase Prophet Owour, aka ‘mightiest prophet’.
There has never, ever, been a greater religious conman in this country than Prophet Owuor, and I say this authoritatively in the full knowledge that we still have the likes of the Kiunas with us. But, before we stop the Kiunas and the Gakuyos, the government needs to start a massive and far-reaching crackdown on these pseudo-prophets.
We have let this fraud Prophet Owuor get away with too much, but this time, especially in light of this Mama Rosa drama, Prophet Owuor has gone too far. I am OK with his deluded legion of fans scouring the roads with soap for his coming, but claiming to raise the dead is over the top, and also funny in a sick way.
Prophet Owuor is a toxic, predatory, shameless avuncular crook hiding under a religious cloak to prey on the poor, sick and desperate people in our society. For a man who calls himself “prophet” he is leading a far too flashy and flamboyant life; the real prophets Elijah and Elisha must be seething with rage in their heavenly lairs.
This self-absorbed charlatan — who seems to enjoy protection from the government — does not belong in the pulpit, or anywhere near a church. He belongs in jail for lying to innocent souls, giving them false hope and monetising their desperation.
The “Grand Mega Healing Conference” he hosted in January was a most grotesque event camouflaged as a healing rally, with poor people dragging their sick relatives and friends just to touch the hem of his oversize suit.
I know the freedom to worship has been enshrined in the Constitution, but that does not give us leeway to allow these delinquents to lie to our people.
DUPLICITOUS FRAUDS
We cannot have narcissistic, duplicitous frauds like “Bishop” David Ngari of Gakuyo Real Estate setting up churches and swindling their members into joining fake housing saccos just to enrich himself.
It is hardly a good idea to ask members of a cult to abandon their church or even stop contributing towards the purchase of a jet for Crooked Daddy Pastor perched on Forest Road.
Many people don’t realise when they are joining a cult, and most will be fleeced to bankruptcy before it dawns on them that Mummy Pastor’s #40DaysofGlory are actually #40DaysofConning. In such cultic churches, it would seem, salvation occurs by the removal of your mind and not its renewal.
The government needs to put its foot down and deregister every single church in this country owned by an individual — or a group of individuals — since crime in churches happens especially where two or three are gathered.
We cannot have every good-looking couple in town set up shop masquerading as a church and appoint a bunch of hypocritical wackos to act as “elders” to fool millions of faithful.
While at it, we need to make these pastors accountable for the monies received in churches. The first sign of a cult is how they handle their money. If your mummy and daddy pastor treat your tithes and offerings with secrecy, then you need to ask yourself a few questions.
The government also needs to thoroughly vet the credentials of these characters and ensure they have been trained at reputable theological colleges.
Let’s get these sick men out of our churches. I know a great place to start: Prophet David Owuor, mightiest conman.