‘Those talking ill about me will die before their time’

As provocative as this headline is, I was ready to ignore it, believing it was the ranting of a disgruntled politician. I said as much to my husband, who was reading The Nation newspaper (of Kenya) on our Nairobi-bound flight from Abuja. His simply spoken, ‘The man isn’t even a politician, he is a pastor’ […]

As provocative as this headline is, I was ready to ignore it, believing it was the ranting of a disgruntled politician. I said as much to my husband, who was reading The Nation newspaper (of Kenya) on our Nairobi-bound flight from Abuja. His simply spoken, ‘The man isn’t even a politician, he is a pastor’ suddenly peaked my interest in the story. Why would a pastor send such an ugly curse to his flock? And why would the flock think it right to speak ill of their clergy? With these questions racing through my mind, I couldn’t wait to collect the newspaper from my husband the moment he was through with it.
By the time I did so, the full text of Pastor Ng’anga’s curse made me speechless. Hear him ‘Those who are talking ill of me, I assure them that they will die before their time, some of them are young children who are not married yet, they will never get married. Some have not yet given birth and they won’t.’ And to all these horrible curses, the pastor’s audience was chanting a thunderous ‘Amen.’
It transpired that Pastor James Maina Ng’ang’a of Neno Evangelism Centre in Nairobi, was involved in a car accident that claimed the life of a 43 year old woman named Mercy Njeri. The accident left her husband with serious injuries. Though he denied it, the pastor was said to be at the wheel of a red Range Rover being driven on the wrong side of the road when it crashed into a Toyota and killed the woman on the spot. Some witnesses confirmed early media reports that Ng’ang’a was the driver. But he insisted that he was not the one driving and proceeded to curse all the critics who have been calling for his head since the accident. He sees their call as a kind of media witch-hunt.
Indeed before I was through with the newspaper, there were two columnists advocating his arrest and prosecution over the accident. Variously described as controversial and insensitive, the pastor remained at the receiving end of the media’s harshest criticism in the days following our arrival in Kenya. They alleged a cover-up by the police and intimidation by the fiery clergyman. There was a lot of sympathy for his victim’s family too, especially a teenage daughter whom they all lament will grow up without the love and care of a mother.
This media war must have worked because the police finally arrested Pastor Ng’ang’a, though he was later released on bail, and the Director of Public Prosecution also announced that gaps in the investigation into the July 27th accident have now been sealed and the file will be handed over to Kenya’s Inspector General of police, in order to have Pastor Ng’ang’a charged to court.
But the Pastor’s curse is also having a strong effect on witnesses to the accident. Of the 21 eye witnesses initially interviewed by the police only three were willing to admit they had seen the pastor coming out of the driver’s seat after the accident. The latest is that six witnesses have finally agreed to give their testimonies to the police, after a concerted effort by the Witness Protection Agency assured them of their safety.
It’s not at all surprising that people are afraid to testify against Pastor Ng’anga. With a powerful evil curse like that, many will be cowed into silence to avoid becoming its victim. Luckily the Kenyan media isn’t the superstitious type. And the embattled pastor will have his day in court soon.