Inhumane religion: Children paying for parents’ blind faith in cult beliefs

Health officers in Naivasha forcefully administer a vaccine to a child whose mother belongs to a cult that does not believe in medical treatment. PHOTO: ANTONY GITONGA/STANDARD]

By Antony Gitonga

In the middle of the well fenced green compound in Naivasha stands a huge church, its cross rising as if to meet the clear blue sky.

Behind the high walls are several houses with wooden doors inscribed with Bible verses from the Old Testament. In a corner lies a store full of grains, hay and blankets. Next to it is a shed of several herds of cattle and sheep.

A keener look and you will realise that this is no ordinary church. Instead of the normal pews, the church is covered in hay for the faithful to sit on during prayers. Female faithful wear long skirts. Men must be in a turban.

Everyone who ascribes to the faith walks bare foot inside the premises. Girls in long dresses and matching headgear chase each other around. A group of boys drives out a herd of cattle to the grazing fields.

This is the way of life for members of Kanitha wa Ngai (Church of God) in Karate, Naivasha.

Emaciated children

However, the church is promptly deserted as soon as the government announces a vaccination drive.

The cult, which bars its followers from seeking medical treatment, closes its gate and, as if by magic, the playing children disappear until the immunisation exercise is concluded.

A few kilometers away in Kahuroko village lies a mud-walled house with gaping holes that emit dark smoke.

Inside the dark lit house are three emaciated boys aged between four and 12, with bulging eyes and faces covered in rashes. Kamau, the eldest, lies weak on his deathbed. His young siblings watch untroubled.

Their father James Njuguna, barefoot and in a worn out pair of trousers, comes in to check on his eldest son. He then heads out to his farm to tell his wife that their child is no more.

Never immunised

Instead of grieving, the family erupts in song and prayer. They recite Bible verses all night long. In the morning, the police come in to collect the boy’s body and arrest Njuguna. They had been tipped off by a neighbour. It is later established that Kamau died of measles. This incident occurred a couple of months ago, leaving residents of Kahuroko village in Maraigushu in shock. Since their birth, Njuguna’s sons have never been immunised. They have lived in prayer and song as they continue to suffer.

Njuguna and his wife admitted that they do not seek medical attention. They belong to a sect that bars them from seeking such help. “Kamau told us that he wanted to meet his maker and that was the last time we heard from him before he died,” said the unperturbed father.

In both the Karate and Maraigushu cases, the faithful do not seek medical help. The women give birth in their homes.

Many such cases come to the fore during polio or measles vaccination campaigns. The countrywide polio vaccination drive that concluded on Wednesday was not different.

A week ago, two cult members were arrested and jailed for nine months for denying their children for treatment.

The Naivasha Children’s Department has now raised alarm over rising cases of parents denying their children medical help because of their religious beliefs.

Naivasha Children Officer Francis Njagi has warned that such cults are spreading very fast. He identified Mai Mahiu, Kongoni, Karate, Kinungi and Ndabibi as the areas where most cult members live.

“There are many religious groups that do not believe in medical treatment. They rely on prayers which is against the law,” says Njagi.

He has warned parents who deny their children the right to medication that they risk arrest and prosecution.The officer says they had to seek help from the police to rescue four ailing children who had been locked in by their parents in Mai Mahiu.

“The police officers had to break into the house to rescue the very weak children who were immediately admitted at the Naivasha District Hospital,” he says.

Right to treatment

Njagi is also warning cult leaders that they also risk arrest and prosecution for misleading their members.

But Africa Kanisa Israel church leader Fredrick Mwangi defends the practice, saying anyone has the right to chose whether to seek medical attention or rely on prayers.

Mwangi says the Bible gives them the alternative of praying instead of going to hospital. “We have at no time blocked government officers from immunising our minors. That is an individual parent’s decision,” he says.

Nakuru County Director of Public Health Samuel King’ori admits that the cases are on the rise.

“We have handled many cases of church groups that are opposed to medical attention and even arrested and arraigned parents in court,” he says. King’ori identifies Njuguna’s case as the worst, saying his other children were forced to sleep with their dead brother.

“The parents were not apologetic and claimed that God had taken their son and would offer them another one,” he says.