A Thika Seventh Day Adventist church and four others have moved to court to seek an order restraining the Directorate of Criminal Investigations from arresting arraigning and/or charging and prosecuting them.
This is after the five, Peter Mwaura, Ezekiel Karunye, pr. Robinson Njuguna, Alfred Mwando and SDA Holly Hills and Sisterhood church demanded action to be taken against one of their own for having an extra marital affair with Mwaura’s wife.
The respondents are Samuel Makori, Pr. Alfred Marunds, Eld. Nehemia Maiyo, Pr. Paul Mwangi, Pr. Jeremy Mwenda Marambi, Pr. Charles Kamutu, Eld. Stephen Kioko, Pr. Joshua Mbugua Njuguna, East Kenya Union Conference, Central Kenya Conference and the DCI.
It is alleged that in December 2019, Mwaura an elder at Holly Hills Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) learnt that his wife Mary Nyambura Mwaura was having an extramarital affair with the 8th respondent, Njuguna, who is a Central Kenya Conference Official.
Through lawyer Danstan Omari, the petitioners state that the Church elders of the Church Board established that Pastor Njuguna and the wife, Mrs Mary Nyambura Mwaura had previously confessed in the presence of the District Pastor Robinson Njuguna and the first elders of Holy Hills SDA church and sought to be forgiven but the duo continued with the affair.
According to the petitioners, pursuant to the Seventh Day Adventist church documents policy, the Holly Hills Church board together with the former President of Central Kenya Conference, Pastor Kiragu Ngonyi recommended to the Business meeting of the local church that Njuguna and Nyambura’s names be dropped from the Church register after the lapse of 14 days provided for in the Church Manual.
However, when Njuguna learnt of the recommendations of the Local Church, he allegedly rushed to the Executive committee of the Central Kenya Conference and explained himself thus influencing them to nullify the decision of Holy Hill SDA Church Board.
Further, the said Committee subsequently sat and in a bizarre turn of events exonerated the erring pastor in what left the entire Seventh day Adventist perturbed by their clear abdication of duty and ignorance of the rules of fairness and justice.
After the exoneration, Holy Hills wrote a protest letter dated 22/6/2020 to the ExecutiveCommittee because the Church did not understand the reason as to why they nullified the Local Church’s decision, which letter has never been responded to.
Ironically, in a complete disregard to the general principles of discipline of the SDA church manual at Page 56; the committee in its findings allegedly found Nyambura culpable for adultery but exonerated Njuguna in a very unclear and bewildering manner.
After the ordeal, on diverse dates the petitioners together with other church elders from Thika Pastoral Districts and sisterhood Churches wrote protest letters conveying a vote of no confidence to the East Kenya Union Conference and Central Kenya Conference on the manner in which they had handled the case which already put the entire SDA Congregation to ridicule and disrepute.
The petitioners claim that the respondents have continued to abuse their powers by protecting erring members of the SDA church who are their cronies instead of reprimanding them as per the provisions of the Church Manual and victimizing the voices of reason within the church.
It is also alleged that Mwaura and Karunye are facing imminent threats of arrest by the DCI and arraignment in a Criminal Court for false allegations of the unconstitutional claim of criminal defamation and the two face imminent arrests on the premise of complaints brought by the erring pastor Njuguna .
As a result of the Respondents protection, the 5th Respondent through the10th Respondent has unlawfully, unjustly and unconstitutionally suspended the 3rd Petitioner, Maiyo from employment for 6 months with no salary and without allowance effective 17th November 2020.
The petitioners term the suspension a witch hunt because of exposing the ills that are being perpetrated by the respondents in blatant disregard of the Seventh Day Adventist Church manual as well as the collective dignity of the Holly Hill SDA Church.
The petitioners want a declaration that the acts of the 1st to 8th respondents nullifying the Holly Hills Local Church Board Committee’s decision to reprimand Pastor Joshua Njuguna for the affair is a breach and violation of article 47 of the Constitution to the extent that the impugned decision was opaque as it was arrived at irrationally and unreasonably and in a very unclear manner that makes the constitutional demand for a fair administrative action meaningless and a mirage.
They further want an order permanently directing the 1st to 8th respondents to immediately vacate office for gross misconduct, gross abuse of office and failure to follow the Rules as stipulated in the Seventh Day Adventist Church Manual at page 56.
The congregants also want an order permanently restraining the Respondents, their agents, servants or assistants from intimidating/harassing and embarrassing the petitioners herein and others interested in seeing the correct position of the SDA church being upheld.
