Nairobi: Pastors Sues Church’s Board For Embezzling Funds

A group of pastors in Nairobi have sued the church’s board of trustees over alleged mismanagement of millions of shillings that were supposed to be  Preachers Retirement Benefits Scheme.

Led by Reverend Humphrey Goren, the group of 20 Pentecostal Assemblies of God (PAG) pastors say the benefits scheme which is administered by Reverend Nathan Ondego, has been mismanaged and its assets wasted to a point of no recovery.

Through lawyer John Khaminwa, the pastors who have filed a suit at the High Court in Milimani in Nairobi say they have been paying monthly contributions to the scheme from their salaries and they are bound to suffer great losses.

“Reverend Nathan Ondego and James Ogendi are using the accounts as their personal piggy banks, in complete disregard of the provisions of the Retirement Benefits Authority Act and if not restrained, the assets of the scheme will be wasted and will cause the petitioners to suffer a great irretrievable loss,” Reverend Goren says in an affidavit

The pastors have listed 11 parties, among them the pastors in charge of the scheme Nathan Ondego and James Ogendi, the board of trustees, the church’s executive caretaker committee, the Attorney-General, the registrar of societies and the national police service as respondents.

The pastors now want orders stopping reverends Ondego and Ogendi, any members of the fund scheme and the caretaker committee from having any access to any of the scheme’s assets pending hearing and determination of the case.

They further want the court to bar the respondents from entering the church’s headquarters or houses and an order issued against inciting and dividing members of the church.