Methodist Church re-elects Bishop amid controversy
Rev Joseph Ntombura, the embattled presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, has been re-elected to head the church whose multi-billion shilling property is at stake.
Rev Ntimbura had expressed fear for his life before moving to court for protection.
Rev Ntombura and the top leadership of the Church established in 1862 told a Nairobi Court that ex-church leaders have teamed up with unnamed government officials to wrestle the Kenya Methodist University (Kemu) and the church headquarters from them.
At the Milimani Law Courts, senior principal magistrate Paul Rotich was told by lawyer Danstan Omari for Rev Ntombura, who is also the President of Africa Methodist Council, that some retired church leaders had teamed with powerful politicians to grab some of the church institutions with a view to privatizing them.
“Hired armed goons invaded the Sh12billion Methodist Church Headquarters last December with a view to hurt and kick out Rev Ntombura and other leaders from office,” Mr Omari told the court.
Omari said ‘unless the court orders Kileleshwa Officer Commanding Station (OCS) to provide security, there could be disturbance during the Church’s 57th Annual Conference’.
In the suit, the Trustee Registered Methodist Church and Rev Ntombura had named Bishop Misheck Kanake and 15 others as respondents.
However, when the case came up for hearing, lawyers for the respondents failed to turn up in court after members of the 57th Annual Conference elected Rev Ntombura to lead the church for another two years.
“This case has been overtaken by events since Rev Ntombura has been elected as the validly elected head of the church,” Mr Omari told the court.
In the wake of the new development Omari urged the court to terminate the case since the main borne of contention was the election of Rev Ntombura.