Tensions erupted during a church service at California Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Church in Nakuru West, leaving several people injured following a brawl reportedly sparked by allegations of gross misconduct, including the misappropriation of church funds.
During the incident that happened on Saturday, congregants including church elders engaged in a physical exchange of blows inside the sanctuary as women and children screamed.
According to reports, tensions had been simmering at the church for weeks, with some of the congregants demanding more accountability from the pastor, leading to the climax witnessed on Saturday.
Images and videos seen by Kenya Gossip, showed one of the church elders take to the main dias and claim that the pastor had taken them to the local administration demanding their arrests.
This was after it emerged that the pastor went to the local chief urging for the arrests of the church members over an alleged murder attempt.
”We have said that we understand the procedure of all this. Why do you want to take us in circles? Even we understand how these things operate. You cannot force us to pray without solving all these, the church has procedures,” the elder stated.
”Why don’t you ask us where the problem is, yesterday you took us to the chief and you know that the order here doesn’t give room for that, yet you wanted us arrested?” he questioned.
After a series of hard-hitting questions, things took a different twist when the elder could no longer control his anger and charged straight to where the man of the clock was seated following the accusations.
The pastor did not take it lightly and in retaliation, also engaged the elder in a physical brawl that soon attracted tens of other worshippers on the main dias.
They exchanged blows amongst themselves with chairs being broken as a result of the panic that had built up forcing the other church members to exit through the exits of the incomplete building they were in.
The incident came against the backdrop of yet another ugly incident where a senior church leader of the SDA stabbed an elder of the church using a knife.
The suspect had allegedly hidden the stabbing object inside a bible that he used to access the church in the pretense of spreading the good news.
The slain elder, Francis Opiyo, 35, lost his life after suffering fatal injuries in his stomach from an altercation with the suspect who surrendered himself to the assistant chief moments later.
