"Winners Chapel in Child Kidnapping Scandal"

by Obong Akpaekong ("Newswatch," October 21, 2002)
Kenyan government orders the church out of the country over alleged involvement in unholy practices

David Oyedepo, bishop and founder of Living Faith Outreach Worldwide, more popular as a "Winners Chapel" may have been too shocked to believe it. The Winners Chapel he laboured to plant in Kenya may have used the past several months to clean up a mess of its name in the East African country. The government was asked to investigate the activities of the church nationwide with a view to banning it.

This was after a cabinet minister accused a branch of the church of leaving the business of soul-winning for other things which only Satan would rejoice about. According to a recent Pan African News Agency, PANA, report, Francis Lotodo, Kenya 's energy minister accused leaders of Winners Chapel in the country's West Pokot district of involvement in a number of societal ills.

One of them is child abduction. The leadership of the church was also said to be working in cohort with anti-government forces to overthrow the government of President Daniel Arap Moi. Members of the church were also said to have had close links with the Mungiki traditional sect. Mungiki is an unregistered group dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Kikuyu cultural traditions.

The Christian community in Kenya does not accept Mungiki as one of its. There are many reasons for this. Mungiki practises female circumcision. It teaches that prayers be offered while facing Mount Kenya . The Kikuyu community in Kenya believes that Mount Kenya is the seat of God.

Child abduction has become a highly emotional issue in Kenya following a wave of mysterious disappearances and murders of children in recent months. There were fears that ritual killers were on the loose since most of the bodies of kidnapped victims had vital body organs missing.

With these accusations, Lotodo ordered the pastor of the church out of the district. He called on the government to conduct a thorough investigation of the church nationwide with a view to banning it.

"Although the freedom of worship is provided for in the constitution, we are not going to allow such organisations to soil our people with evil doctrine," Lotodo said. Lotodo warned members of the Pokot community not to fellowship in the church again or "you will follow these people to Nigeria ."

But many prominent Kenyans defended the church, saying it was not in its character to be involved in any of the allegations. One of those who spoke in strong defence of the Kenyan Winners Chapel was Ralia Odinga, leader of the Kenyan opposition. Odinga warned government against any attempts to rubbish Winners Chapel in the country and described the church as "one of the fastest-growing churches in Nigeria where it is highly regarded." Lotodo, reacting to Odinga's comment said the Kenyan government would not be intimidated by the successes of the church elsewhere. Some other Kenyans were worried that Lotodo lumped Winners Chapel with a group like Mungiki, saying the two bodies had nothing in common. Newswatch could not meet Oyedepo when it visited the church's Canaanland headquarters in Otta, Ogun State last week for his comment on the issue. But one of his aides, who pleaded anonymity, said the church in Nigeria was not aware of the issue. He said Winners Chapel was founded on Jesus Christ and it was not possible for it to be involved in things that did not give God the glory.

Winners Chapel is indeed, one of Africa 's fastest-growing churches. The church has more than 40,000 members in Nigeria . Winners Chapel is found in all the 36 states of the nation including Abuja . Oyedepo has a global vision of evagelisation. This vision has led to the establishment of his church in almost every African country. Oyedepo is noted for big evangelism projects. In 1995, his church bought an aircraft for use in preaching the gospel. Two years ago, Oyedepo commissioned a 50-thousand seater worship auditorium in Canaanland.

Additional report by Annette Edo.

Newswatch Volume 36 No 16, October 21, 2002