A US-based Kenyan pastor was last week charged with two counts of forgery and conspiracy to commit a felony.
Pastor Ismael Denis Omondi of Upendo Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas was arraigned before Kwale Senior Principal Magistrate Joe Omido on Friday.
The charge sheet states that the accused person forged a constitution and minutes of a rival church with the intention of diverting funds to his church.
He is alleged to have committed the said offenses on diverse dates between September and October 2019 at an unknown location within the Republic of Kenya.
Jointly with others not before the court, the accused allegedly conspired to commit a felony namely forgery of Service Ministries constitution in a bid to divert funds to Restoration Kenya Ministries.
He is accused of forging the constitution and minutes of an annual meeting to the Registrar of Societies purported to have been signed by the Kenya Ministries secretary James Muthee Njau. The cleric also faced another count of conspiracy to commit a felony contrary to section 393 of the Penal Code.
Pastor Omondi, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, spend the weekend at Diani police station pending a ruling on his bail application on Monday.
He was arrested on Thursday, ending a two-year hunt for the clergyman and his co-conspirators.
The prosecution urged the court to deny him bail and order him to deposit his passport with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), arguing that he is a flight risk.
MWUMBAJi MKUU WA VIUMBE…
MWUMBAJi MKUU WA VIUMBE VYOTE NA PIA binadamu alitupatia akili baada ya kuwatumia wazazi wetu (baba na mama), halafu tukazaliwa, ndipo kazi yake ilimalizika kabisa. Usipoilinda na kuichunga akili yako 24/7, matapeli (kama viongozi wa makanisa) watakutapeli kwa kukudanganya ya kwamba wanamtumikia mungu wao bandia wa kutoka nje ya Afrika.
Ndiyo sababu Waswahili wana msemo maarufu sana unaosema, “AKILI NI MALI.”
Nilipokuwa mfuasi wa dini ya kigeni ambayo imwamini mwana wa Miriamu, nilisoma katika Mathayo (Matthew) 6: 6-8. Maaandiko yenywe yanasema:
“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like the pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
Aliyetamka maneno haya ni Mwake Miriamu!
Kwa hiyo, ningependa kuwauliza wafuasi wa dini hii: kwa nini mnakwenda makanisani kusali na kiongozi wenu (Mwana wa Miriam) aliwaonyesheni namna na njia ya kusali?
Hebu mwone Ndugu Ruto jinsi anavyotoa hongo makanisani ili wafuasi-kondoo wampigie kura halafu aiharibu nchi ya Kenya kabisa.
Ndugu Samoei Arap Ruto, ningependa kukuuliza swali hili muhimu; kwa nini hujalijenga kanisa lililoko Eldoret lililoitwa Kiambaa baada ya watu kuteketezewa kanisani humo baada ya uchaguzi wa 2007-08?
Makanisa mengi ya Kenya yamekuwa sasa, kama ngome (fort) ya matapeli na majambazi!
If the pastor can hold on…
If the pastor can hold on for 24 years like Jirongo, he will also walk free.