This archive report was first published on 6 January 2020.
On January 5, 2020, a horrific incident shook the community of Chembani village in Mombasa's Kisauni constituency. Pastor Elisha Nadoya Mizigo, a man of the cloth, stabbed his wife, Anna Mghoi Maghanga, several times before turning the knife on himself inside the church they founded together.
According to eyewitnesses, the attack occurred on the pulpit in full view of congregants. The pastor's wife died at the Coast Provincial General Hospital, while Pastor Mizigo's lifeless body lay on the pulpit before it was taken to the mortuary by police.
Investigations revealed that Pastor Mizigo had left behind a 17-page document detailing his grievances against his wife. In the notes, he accused her of adultery, plotting to dispossess him of church property, and even witchcraft. He also claimed that she had taken control of their assets, including the church, without his knowledge or consent.
‘She has been involved in love affairs with young men in the church...I hustled from mkokoteni (cart) pushing and we slowly bought the plot after we took some loan from a local bank,’ read the suicide note.
‘After a lot of struggle, we progressed well in life and were even blessed with children and then began amassing wealth and property, including owning a church. However, at some point, my wife started to betray me. She went behind my back and took control of all what we had gotten in 19 years without my prior knowledge,’ read another part of the note.
It is alleged that the couple had been experiencing marital problems for some time, with several attempts to reconcile them failing. The church treasurer, Peter Kimbada, revealed that Pastor Mizigo had caused a commotion in 2018, leading to the destruction of church equipment, and had since stopped attending church.
