Kenyan Pastor Investigated for Cult Activities Amid Sexual Abuse Allegations
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A pastor in Kenya is under investigation for allegedly leading a cult and committing sexual abuse against women and girls within his congregation, according to police reports. The pastor, Daniel Mururu, who leads the East African Pentecostal Churches of Kenya in Meru County, is accused, along with other church elders and ushers, of indecently assaulting multiple victims.
The case came to public attention when the church was set ablaze by outraged locals late last month. The accusations against Mururu and his associates are severe, including stripping women naked, shaving their pubic hair, and engaging in sexual intercourse with them. These incidents, according to a police report dated Monday, involve more than seven women and girls aged between 17 and 70, including a 17-year-old schoolgirl who reportedly became pregnant.
Police investigations suggest that Mururu was operating a cult that had radicalized his followers, coercing them into participating in indecent acts under the threat of dire consequences such as sickness or barrenness if they disobeyed.
Kenya, a predominantly Christian nation, has faced challenges in regulating rogue churches and cults that exploit and endanger their members. This case is the latest in a series of alarming incidents involving religious leaders.
Earlier, in a case that shocked the nation and the world, a Kenyan doomsday cult leader was arrested after the discovery of mass graves in Shakahola Forest, near Malindi, in April last year. The investigation into the so-called “Shakahola forest massacre” has so far uncovered 448 bodies, with many victims dying of starvation, while others, including children, appeared to have been strangled, beaten, or suffocated.
The Shakahola case prompted the Kenyan government to acknowledge the need for stricter control over fringe religious groups. In response, President William Ruto established a commission to investigate the deaths and review the regulations governing religious organizations. The commission’s report, presented in July, recommended a hybrid model of self-regulation combined with government oversight to prevent such tragedies in the future.
Content retrieved from: https://www.tv360nigeria.com/kenyan-pastor-investigated-for-cult-activities-amid-sexual-abuse-allegations/.
