Prophet Owour preys big on his followers

Self-proclaimed Prophet David Owuor is faced with another credibility crisis after a family accused his church of fraudulently seizing control and occupancy of Ksh1.5 billion property in Westlands, Nairobi.  It is said most of his followers at the Repentance and Holiness Ministry Church believe in the guy mostly because he does not take offerings.

This latest case concerning the ‘Man of God’, however, suggests that he maybe reaping from some of them in a big way.  Owuor is understood to have influenced Jayne Muthoni, one of his ardent followers, to give up ownership of her multi-million properties back in 2005.  The family accuses the controversial prophet of pocketing millions of shillings in monthly rent from the upscale apartments.

The property allegedly seized by Owuor’s church includes multi-storeyed apartments along upscale Rhapta Road in Westlands and the leafy suburb of Riverside Drive. Back in 2005, the family claims that Owuor repressed Muthoni to appoint Owuor’s follower, Lilly Njage, as a co-director in Shaba Investment Limited, the registered owner of the flats.

For years, Owuor has run his church without taking offerings from his congregation and always encouraged them to give up other things and pursue ‘Serving the Lord’. Even though it has never been made clear where he gets his money, Owuor lives an unapologetic life of luxury. He always arrives at his church events with a convoy of luxurious vehicles.

The family hence claims that Ms Muthoni, who abandoned her profession as a lawyer to ‘serve the lord’, was not in her sound mind when she gave Njage authority to manage her property, in what could point to fraud. According to them, Muthoni had been brainwashed hence giving away the property.

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“We want my sister’s property taken back to her. They forced her to appoint a co-director so that they can take control of the company. They have stolen from her. There is one transaction which I saw and more than Sh700 million was withdrawn from her bank account,” Muthoni’s brother Duncan Njagi is quoted as saying by The Star.

Duncan claimed the prophet had moved into his sisters’ deluxe home, which he has converted into a private office and center for church operations. It is also said that the home had once belonged to The Late Prof. George Saitoti.

‘We don’t think the memory lapse they are talking about is natural.’

Owuor’s church through its lawyer, Kimani Watenga, denied a plot to deceive Muthoni to surrender her properties. He said Muthoni voluntarily appointed Njage, a close friend and church colleague, to help her run the property after she developed “memory problems”.

Alice Macharia, Muthoni’s sister, revealed that the plot began back in 2004 when she was told to stop her business operations and ‘Serve the Lord’. A year later, she appointed Lilly Njage on grounds that she was unwell, she said.

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“We don’t think the memory lapse they are talking about is natural. We believe our sister was forced to take some drugs that made her lose her memory. We are questioning why the church should ask her to appoint another, whom she is not related to, to manage her property,” the sister said.

Lilly Njage, who was appointed by Muthoni to manage the properties, claims that she has never withdrawn any money from Muthoni’s account. She said that she had been keeping all documents that showed the properties Muthoni owns and none of them has been transferred to either the church or herself.