The late Pastor Michael Njoroge of Fire Gospel Ministries in Nairobi, who died on August 31, 2023. He came into the limelight after being exposed on television for coaching commercial sex workers to give false testimonies in his church that they had been healed after being prayed over by him. (Inset) Mwende.
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How encounter with Mwende, a prostitute, ended tragically for Pastor Michael Njoroge
What you need to know:
- At his peak he flew choppers, drove luxury vehicles and wined and dined with the who-is-who in society.
- Then his world crumbled after undercover reporters unmasked how he used to coach commercial sex workers to give fake testimonies for bribes.
In his heyday, Pastor Michael Njoroge of Fire Gospel Ministries in Nairobi lived like a king.
He flew helicopters, drove luxury cars and wined and dined with the who's who of society.
He made sure his followers on social media followed his every story, luxury expenditure or expensive ride.
That was until his world crumbled after undercover reporters exposed how he coached commercial sex workers to give false testimony in exchange for bribes.
The idea was to attract more vulnerable believers to his mega-church - an idea that initially worked well until Njoroge fell out with Esther Mwende, a call girl he picked up on the streets of Thika town, had sex with her and later coached her to pretend that she had a deformed mouth but had been healed after being prayed over by Pastor Njoroge.
Mwende gave the false testimony in church but later exposed Pastor Njoroge after he failed to pay her as agreed.
Njoroge died three months ago after suffering a heart attack at his home in Thika town, Kiambu County, and was hastily buried in Nyandarua County.
His body was quietly taken to Montezuma Funeral Homes a few kilometres from Thika town and registered under a nickname, an insider at the facility told the Nation on Sunday.
In March this year, the Nation tried to interview Njoroge after it emerged that he had fallen into depression and eventually alcoholism after his fortune disappeared. He promised to call back, claiming he was in Kitengela.
He sounded exhausted and drunk and spoke in a hushed tone.
I googled your name and what I find is that most of the stories you have written are about problems and people who stole something and where they are now. The problem with Kenyan journalists is that you are obsessed with bad news. I will call you personally when I am ready,'' Njoroge said on the phone before hanging up.
Miriam Njoroge, 45, is the widow of the late pastor.
When the Nation contacted her for an interview on Sunday, she termed her late husband as a canny businessman and pastor who was aggressive and shrewd.
''He had his flaws as a man, his biggest undoing was women. He had failed marriages and when he married me in the year 2008 he had just left another abusive marriage. Since he was exposed in the media, everything turned upside down. He tried to revive his church but only a few members turned up. Then Covid-19 pandemic came and he was completely depleted,’’ Ms Njoroge told the Nation.
Photo of Pastor Michael Njoroge's first wedding to Esther Kagure. In July 2012, Kagure claimed to be the legal wife of Pastor Njoroge, who left her in their matrimonial home and married a second wife, Miriam Wacuka.
All along the interview, Ms Njoroge was very careful with her words while describing her late husband.
But to a keen eye, everything narrowed to greed, dishonesty, alcoholism and the insatiable appetite for women as the biggest downfall for Njoroge who loved and lived life on the first lane.
Njoroge’s wife disputes that the life and times of her late husband can be likened to that of Tekayo in Grace Ogot Short Story under a character called Tekayo, where an old man develops an unusual appetite for human liver after eating a piece of meat an eagle had dropped.
He would later embark on a spirited hunt for the animal from which the eagle’s liver could have come from.
Greedy and desperate, he ended up killing his grandson and eating his liver after hunting and killing animals and getting disappointing results.
This is after it emerged, that after Njoroge died, the family members set up a church WhatsApp group to foot funeral expenses and after promising the church members that they would be informed about the burial dates and time they secretly buried him by 9 am on September 4.
The burial ceremony, a church member told the Nation, was restricted to family members and his closest friends.
''He conned us both in life and death. We pooled resources, close to Sh1 million only to learn later that he had already been buried in Nyahururu,'' a former church member who was part of the WhatsApp group said..
But Ms Njoroge defended the move, arguing that Njoroge had made a will before his death, stipulating that he should be buried three days after his death and that any property he owned should be divided among his children.
George Mwangi, who lives in Thika, Dellview area, not far from where Pastor Michael Njoroge's family lives, says that after the media exposé, Njoroge turned to alcohol, which took a toll on him.
In July 2012, Pastor Michael Njoroge alleged that his life was in danger and that since NTV had aired a report about his ministry unknown assailants at Avenue II along outering road had attacked him at night. Here, friends show the damaged car of the Fire Gospel Ministries at Embakasi Police Station.
Before he was exposed in the media, Njoroge was a very healthy and wealthy man, he was generous, he had influential friends and a lot of money. The money later disappeared after the church, which was his mainstay, started attracting few members. He became depressed, turned to alcohol and eventually died a miserable man,'' said Mr Mwangi, a boda boda rider.
Njoroge died at the age of 51.
