Worshippers at the Kitui church, whose pastor was gunned down by police during a violent robbery over the weekend, are still stunned and dismayed by their spiritual shepherd's transformation into an armed criminal.
Interviews with members of the Open Heaven City Chapel in Soweto, Kitui County, revealed that the slain pastor, identified as Ezekiel Muinde Mwangangi, shattered the stereotype of a humble, God-fearing man.
“We are all in shock. He was one of the leading pastors who had been given the responsibility of overseeing a new branch at Kauma Market in Kitui West,” Mr Ambrose Wambua, a worshipper who runs a retail shop at Soweto Market, told Nation.
Mr Wambua said that there was nothing suspicious about him to betray the trust they had placed in him since he joined the ministry early last year.
“He used to preach in almost all the open crusades of our church and had tarnished the reputation of a true preacher of the gospel,” Mr Wambua said, adding that they wished he survived the shooting to tell his side of the story or face his day in court.
The pastor, whose identity was not immediately determined at the scene of the shooting, was part of a gang that raided Muli Munyoki's wholesale shop and robbed him at gunpoint at Kavisuni market in Kisasi district last week.
His robbery accomplice, a fellow worshipper, escaped with bullet wounds after the rogue preachers were shot by police.
Mr David Munene, the founding pastor who recruited him into the ministry, claimed he had been subjected to untold police scrutiny and interrogation since the incident, but insisted he had nothing to do with his criminal activities outside of church.
His robbery accomplice, a fellow worshipper, escaped with bullet wounds after the rogue preachers were shot by police.
Mr David Munene, the founding pastor who recruited him into the ministry, claimed he had been subjected to untold police scrutiny and interrogation since the incident, but insisted he had nothing to do with his criminal activities outside of church.
Pastor Munene stated that the slain pastor joined his ministry during an open crusade in Kalundu market, like any other convert, and remained committed until he requested permission to open the Kauma branch.
“I’ve had some complaints against him from the believers at the new branch, including that he was hot-tempered and harsh with them, but I’ve been able to resolve them through counselling and dialogue in the hope that he will mature in the gospel,” said the pastor.
He claimed he had been questioned by the police at least three times to clarify his relationship with the pastor-turned-armed robber.
Gladys Nzanga, a waiter at a pub next to the church, said the rogue pastor was always well-dressed and could be heard leading praise and worship during Sunday services.
In the shocking incident of gospel preacher by day and gangster by night, the pastor was found armed with a toy pistol, a sharp double-edged dagger, and a fake police radio, while his accomplice, who is on the run, is thought to be armed with a real gun.
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