Cults:Don’t blame, Arunga, its all about desperation

By Njoki Karuoya

What is happening to Esther Arunga now is not unique in any way. The only reason the whole nation is glued to television screens, radio sets and newspaper pages to keep in step with every detail of her ‘intriguing’ saga is simply because she is a media personality, a celebrity of sorts who had touched the hearts of thousands, mostly men, with her sweet, almost innocent persona.

But the religious/spiritual ‘madness’ she is ostensibly displaying is not unique. Ask any woman who knows a friend who got sucked into a ‘church’ or a pastor’s embrace.

Similarly, there are numerous stories of men who have almost given up, or gave up a long time ago on their relationships with wives and fiancÈes after they were hooked to a ‘church’ and proceeded to forsake all (family and friends) for its sake.

Suckers

Again, no unique story there. It has happened in the past, is continuing to happen today (just look at that ‘Christian’ crowd in Nakuru who are still praying for their dead pastors to arise), and it will continue to occur long after Arunga’s story has fizzled from the limelight.

And yes, it is interesting that majority of the ‘spiritual’ suckers are women. In fact, most churches today, be they mainstream or otherwise, grew purely on the strength of women’s immense and powerful networking skills — where they call and seduce their friends and family relations to join their church of choice and its fellowship.

The question everyone is asking today, thanks to this Arunga saga, is why women are so easily fooled into joining cults and churches of ill repute? This is my take. Majority of Kenya’s, nay, the world’s women are depressed. So many things have gone wrong in their lives and most are disillusioned.

For many, the disillusionment began with a man who promised heaven and only delivered hell (literally) on Earth. Most feel obliged to stick to these men, regardless of whether they are legally bound to them. Majority have no clue on how to change their miserable situations and keep praying for divine intervention.

For some, the choice of walking out is a non-starter as they are afraid of being scoffed at by society. Majority, however, feel helpless as they have no means to support themselves and their children and so, prefer to stick with the devil they know than discover the harsh world out there.

Other women were disillusioned when their parents refused to believe in them and did not see the need to invest in their wellbeing.

Thick skin

As girls, they suffered discriminatory and cruel practises ranging from incest, rape, female genital mutilation, early marriage, unemployment, bad-paying labour-intensive jobs and, worst of all, crushing poverty.

When such women are invited to a fellowship that seems to provide solutions to their problems or, at the very least, offer a temporary ‘high’ from their perpetual state of misery, they grab the chance to escape, albeit momentarily. Should the perceived ‘saviour’ promise a lifetime of this ‘high’ that will ultimately sort out all their problems and bless them with such a thick skin that nothing will ever pierce through and hurt them as badly as they have been in the past, the women fall completely for the ruse.

In such a state, when proof is provided that the ‘pastor’ or said ‘deliverer’ is a fake (a con businessman or woman out to enrich him/herself), the women, already die-hard loyalists, turn on the messenger bearing the evidence and label him or her a demon sent to persecute them by belittling their faith.

It is the same game with politics. When the Parliamentary Select Committee was reviewing the Harmonised Draft Constitution to come to a consensus, the members rubbished the gains made for women by the Committee of Experts.

The 27-member Committee was overwhelmed by male members (only five were women) and the men fought to keep their strategic gains.

resolve to fight

When they increased the number of parliamentary seats to 349, only 47 were reserved for women. This represents 13.5 per cent, not the 30 per cent the President set aside as a reserve for women.

But who cares? Do you see women protesting and marching on the streets waving placards to protect their gains? No! This is because they are too busy sorting out their many problems that revolve around safeguarding their sanity and fending for their children.

Nonetheless, a few women have resolved to fight for the rights of all women, including those who choose to sit and watch from the sidelines. I am one of them. Please join us.