Group opposes reopening of troubled SDA church

Wrangles roiling Nairobi Central SDA Church are far from over after a faction opposed to the leadership in the country vowed to stay put. 

The rebel group alleged the upscale church was quietly reopened last Saturday for worship before the issues surrounding its closure could be resolved.

The group also alleged the church leadership hired more than 100 goons on Saturday to block some worshipers from accessing the compound. 

Following a fracas in the church on August 3 in which a pastor was clobbered, the government, through Nairobi county commissioner Flora Mworoa, ordered the indefinite closure of the sanctuary.

However, the faction opposed to the church's leadership on Wednesday convened a press conference inside the church compound and claimed that the battle was on.

Led by Humphrey Nguma and Harrison Omari, the group calling itself Concerned Members of Nairobi Central SDA Church termed the alleged reopening strange, unbelievable and suspicious. 

"The issues which led the government to close the church have not been resolved. Those of us who are aggrieved by this development wish to emphatically say this matter is far from over," they said in a statement read by Nguma.

He is a former elder who was among 15 members kicked out of the church for questioning the embattled leadership. 

They denied snubbing a security meeting allegedly convened by Nairobi police commander Phillip Ndolo in his office last week to strike a deal ahead of last Saturday's reopening of the church.

“We are not aware of that meeting. We will be happy to get any evidence from Ndolo that our group was indeed invited but snubbed.”

The group accuses a section of elders allied to the controversial church leadership of leading a cleansing ceremony on the night of August 16 to ostracize demons.

“How can such a cleansing be done before the matter is resolved?” Nguma asked.

The group singled out two deacons working at the Central Bank of Kenya and the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation of assisting the goons in vetting worshipers last Saturday.

“They were tasked to help the goons at the gate block those not wanted in the church from entering the compound.”

They, however, did not mention names.

When asked if they had reached out to the church leadership to amicably sort out the issues, the group said it was dismayed at the manner in which the government and the church leadership were handling the issue.

SDA leadership in the country is said to have been frantically pushing for reopening of the church. 

The leadership has claimed that the decision to close it was unduly influenced by the faction battling the current administration.

Regular police and Flying Squad officers were called to intervene as tensions boiled over at the Church on August 3.

On July 27, a senior pastor of the congregation had been roughed up on stage by people unhappy with his leadership. 

One major source of the tension was a dispute over a 2015 election to choose the denomination's Central Kenya Conference heads. Some felt the election was manipulated.

Edited by R.Wamochie 

---