Ex-anchor to sue journalists over cult saga

By Cyrus Ombati

Former KTN news anchor Esther Arunga defended her decision to leave her parents’ house to go live with a married pastor.

Ms Arunga said she is a mature woman with freedom of association and worship. She accused journalists of being unfair in trying to dig into her private life.

Arunga addressed a press conference in Nairobi in the company of the founder of Finger of God Ministries Joseph Hellon and his wife Kuyu.

Arunga said she decided to speak to the media following concerns by her supporters, who wanted to know if the church she had joined was a cult and whether she had abandoned her planned wedding.

She argued she resigned from KTN to help Mr Hellon run his business in which she is also a director.

No regrets

Arunga said she had no regrets in quitting her job and leaving her parents’ house to join Hellon.

She denied she had dropped her former fiancÈ and opted to marry Hellon, arguing she moved to the jazz musician’s house in Runda because it is spacious.

"I was engaged to another man whom we were to wed with in April but broke up two weeks ago after I heard so many negative things about him," she said.

Separately, the Standard Group has accepted Arunga’s resignation as KTN anchor. Group Assistant Director Legal and Human Resources Nelly Matheka, however, said the firm regrets she was leaving when her career was promising. Ms Matheka wished her well in her future endeavours.

(Read full story in Pulse magazine)