Clerics take on Njuri Ncheke after pastor is forced to take oath
Pastor Moses Mwingirwa of Full Gospel Churches in Kenya who claims he was abducted and assaulted by Njuri Ncheke elders. A Njuri Ncheke shrine was burnt on Sunday as tension between the elders and the church escalated.
In the wee hours of last Sunday morning, a truckload of youths believed to be from Full Gospel Church descended on Kairakai village in Tigania West, Meru County, with one mission: to raze a Njuri Ncheke shrine.
The burning down of the Kaliati shrine used by elders from Lairang’i village was the climax of a two-week conflict that started with the alleged abduction and beating up of Pastor Moses Mwingirwa of Full Gospel Church in Kairakai.
On Monday, the elders, adorned in their ritual gear, held a demonstration and threatened to take action against the family of Pastor Mwingirwa on allegations that he spearheaded the arson attack.
Pastor Mwingirwa denies involvement in the burning of the shrine and has dared the Njuri Ncheke elders to a mother of all “spiritual battles”.
Njuri Ncheke elders have argued that the pastor sought to be initiated into the council willingly but Mr Mwingirwa accused the elders of abducting him after he inquired about a church member who had been taken in by the elders.
Full Gospel Church regional overseer in Tigania West Daudi Kaibung'a during a press conference at Boroti Church on April 12, 2022. He admitted that the church burnt down a Njuri Ncheke shrine where one of their pastors is alleged to have been assaulted.
Tigania region Njuri Ncheke secretary Jeremiah Chokera said the council of elders was not ready to fight the church and was now targeting individuals.
“No one was abducted and initiated by force. The pastor entered the shrine and was initiated on his request. We will use the Njuri Ncheke justice system to deal with those involved in the arson attack,” Mr Chokera said.
Joining the council
But for a man to join the Njuri Ncheke Council of Elders, he must be accompanied by a godfather and pay the required tokens of initiation.
Pastor Mwingirwa denied willingly joining the council, saying he was attacked when he went looking for the shrine leaders and was dragged into the shrine.
“I was undressed, arraigned naked and beaten senseless for three hours. They forced me to take several oaths and beat me up anytime I refused to respond. I did not believe that I would survive the ordeal,” Pastor Mwingirwa said.
Despite reporting the assault to the police, he said, no action was taken.
The dispute took a new twist on Tuesday after Tigania/Isiolo district Full Gospel Church leaders admitted to leading the arson attack.
They blamed it on the failure of the government to take action against the people who assaulted their pastor.
“After we realised that the police were not taking action, we wrote a letter to the Tigania West deputy county commissioner and met him to present our complaints,” Full Gospel Church regional overseer Daudi Kaibung’a said.
“Despite all this, no one has been arrested. The administrators have told us Njuri Ncheke is untouchable and we had to act.”
He added: “We supervised the burning of the place where our pastor was assaulted. If the government cannot do its work, we will not hesitate to defend ourselves.”
Initiate them
Bishop Gideon Kirima accused some Njuri Ncheke elders in Tigania West of being used to terrorise men who are not willing to be initiated.
“This is not the first incident we are seeing where they forcefully abduct a man and initiate them. They target those with livestock.
Njuri Ncheke is known to be a revered council but there are criminals operating under its name,” Bishop Kirima said.
But Mr Chokera said Njuri Ncheke does not harbour criminals and has not had a conflict with the Full Gospel Church.
“The region council leaders will meet on Saturday to seal the fate of those who burnt our shrine,” he said.
In February, Njuri Ncheke elders from Mariri village in Igembe North were accused of abducting and assaulting a 69-year-old man before he was forcefully initiated.
The elders had accused Julius Mung’athia of practising witchcraft.
Jerusalem International Gospel Church Julius Gitari said they had a pact that church elders should never be subjected to the Njuri Ncheke dispute resolution system but be taken to the administration.
“We respect the council of elders but they should stop forcefully seizing people. Many people have been oppressed by the council but they don’t complain because it is believed that they can curse people,” he said.
“Njuri Ncheke should not be seen to be breaking into people’s homes like they are ordinary thieves.”
Njuri Ncheke secretary-general Josphat Murangiri has repeatedly condemned the forceful initiation of men by some council elders, arguing that joining is voluntary.
