This archive report was first published on 12 August 2019.
On August 12, 2019, the Nairobi Regional Commissioner, Flora Mworia, directed the closure of the Nairobi Central SDA Church, citing intelligence reports of a likelihood of violence.
The church had been embroiled in a leadership dispute for months, with allegations of ethnic favoritism and a struggle for control of millions of shillings and job opportunities.
According to Pastor Peter Nyaga, the church's pastor, the State's decision was an infringement on the church's freedom of worship.
"This is a constitutional issue. Our constitution is under trial because we believe that we have freedom of association and worship. Is religious liberty at test?" Pastor Nyaga said.
The church's Central Kenya Conference (CKC) had written a letter to the Westlands Deputy County Commissioner, seeking clarification on the State's decision to close the church.
The letter, dated August 8, 2019, stated, "In any event, our understanding of the law is that a person's right of worship cannot be abridged by the threat of other parties to break the law. It's indeed the duty of the police to protect worshipers exercising their rights rather than block them from exercising that right."
The wrangles in the church had taken an ethnic twist, with a section of the church accusing one community of dominating the other.
Meanwhile, Nyando MP Jared Okello has called on his fellow legislators who profess the Adventist faith to intervene in the wrangles facing the Maxwell SDA Church.
